Bed/room/patient association systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of associating beds and/or rooms and/or patients are provided. One system and method involves using a signature of emitted light to determine a location of a patient bed in a healthcare facility. Another system and method involves reading a bar code from an array of redundant bar codes. Still another system and method involves manually entering location information on a graphical user interface of a patient bed for subsequent transmission. A further system and method involves sending bed ID and location ID along parallel paths from two independent circuits on a patient bed for receipt by two different transceivers and ultimately by two different remote computers that cooperate to associate the bed ID with the location ID. Still a further system and method involves using circuitry on a bed to mutate a received location ID and a bed ID into a single unique mutated ID such as by adding the location ID and bed ID and then performing a hashing operation.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/879,399, which was filed Sep. 18,2013, and which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for associatingbeds, rooms, and/or patients and particularly, to such associationsystems and methods used in a healthcare facility.

Systems and methods for determining the location of a patient bed withina healthcare facility are known. In some of the known systems, alocating tag is attached to the bed and periodically transmits awireless signal that includes a tag identifier (aka a “tag ID”) which isa string of characters such as letters and/or numbers and/or symbolsthat uniquely identify the tag. In some such prior art systems, a set ofwireless receivers are mounted at fixed locations throughout thehealthcare facility and are coupled to the computer network of thehealthcare facility. A receiver in the vicinity of a tag receives thetag ID and transmits it along with a receiver ID to other computerdevices of the network. Each receiver ID corresponds to a location inthe healthcare facility. Thus, one or more remote computer devices areable to determine the location of the bed based on the tag ID and thereceiver ID.

In many of the prior art systems, the wireless signal from the tag is aninfrared signal that requires an uninterrupted line of sight to areceiver. If the line of sight is blocked, the receiver does not receivethe signal from the tag. Thus, in more recent times, the desire has beento use radio frequency (RF) tags but the drawback with those systems isthat RF signals are able to penetrate floors, ceilings and walls in ahealthcare facility such that multiple receivers sometimes receive thesame wireless RF signal and further processing of some type is needed toresolve the ambiguity of the bed's location. Some prior art systems haveresolved the ambiguities by analyzing signal strength or analyzing timeof flight information.

In some known prior art systems, patient beds have circuitry thattransmits a bed ID, as opposed to a tag ID, as well as bed status datafrom the beds. Typically, the transmissions are made over a cable thatextends from the bed to some sort of interface unit mounted to a wall ina room, but there is the option to do this wirelessly in some prior artsystems by using a wireless interface unit mounted to the room wall. Inany event, the interface unit that receives the transmissions from thebed, either via a wired or wireless connection, is then connected to thenetwork of the healthcare facility, typically, via a wired connection.In these prior art systems, the installation of interface units just toreceive bed ID and bed status data is an added cost to the overallnetwork of the healthcare facility.

The use of wireless access points in healthcare facilities to receiveWi-Fi signals from a variety of equipment and computer devices isbecoming more widespread. Thus, there is a need to develop systems andmethods for making bed-to-room associations or patient-to-roomassociations or patient-to-bed associations or patient-to-bed-to-roomassociations that minimize the amount of specialized receivers,interface units, or other equipment that must be coupled to the networkof the facility.

SUMMARY

The present invention may comprise one or more of the features recitedin the appended claims and/or the following features which each areconsidered to be optional and which, alone or in any combination, maycomprise patentable subject matter:

A system for use in a healthcare facility that may have a network may beprovided according to this disclosure. The system may include a lightsource that may emit visible light that may have a signature that may beunique to a location of the healthcare facility. The system may alsoinclude a patient bed that may have circuitry that may analyze the lightfrom the light source to determine the signature corresponding to thelocation. The circuitry may be configured to transmit data correspondingto the signature and to transmit bed identifier (ID) to the network.

In some embodiments, the signature may comprise a specified wavelength.The light source may be programmable to emit light at the specifiedwavelength. Alternatively or additionally, the signature may comprise aspecified pulse frequency that may be sufficiently great so as to beimperceptible by human vision. The light source may be programmable toemit light at the specified pulse frequency. Thus, the signature maycomprise a specified wavelength at a specified pulse frequency in someembodiments. In such embodiments, the light source may be programmableto emit light at the specified wavelength and at the specified pulsefrequency.

According to this disclosure, the light source may comprise a light bulbthat provides room lighting. In other embodiment, the light source maycomprise a display screen, such as one that may be mounted to a ceilingor a wall of a room of the healthcare facility. The display screen maybe the display screen of a computer device such as the display screen ofa room station of a nurse call system, for example. There may be a lightsource in a number of rooms and the signature from the light source, beit a light bulb or a display screen, may be different for each room. Thelight source may include at least one light emitting diode (LED).

Further according to this disclosure, the circuitry of the patient bedmay include a red-green-blue image sensor that may sense the lightemitted by the light source. Alternatively or additionally, thecircuitry of the patient bed may include a camera that receives thelight emitted by the light source.

The system may further include a computer device that may be coupled tothe network remote from the light source and the patient bed. Thecomputer device may determine the location of the healthcare facility inwhich the light source may be located based on the data corresponding tothe signature. The computer device may associate the bed ID with thelocation of the healthcare facility.

In some embodiments, the circuitry of the patient bed may wirelesslytransmits the data corresponding to the signature and the bed ID to thecomputer device via a wireless access point of the network.Alternatively or additionally, the circuitry of the patient bed maytransmit the data corresponding to the signature and the bed ID to thecomputer device via a wired connection from the bed to the network.

According to some embodiments, a light source may emit visible light andinfrared (IR) light. The IR light may have a signature that may beunique to a location of the healthcare facility. A patient bed mayinclude circuitry that may analyze the IR light from the light source todetermine the signature corresponding to the location. The circuitry maybe configured to transmit data corresponding to the signature and totransmit bed identifier (ID) to the network.

In some embodiments, the IR light may only be emitted when the visiblelight is turned off. According to this disclosure, the light source mayinclude an energy storage device that may power the IR light while thevisible light is turned off. The energy storage device may be chargedwhen the visible light is turned on.

In some embodiments, the visible light may also be emitted with thesignature such that the visible light and the IR light have the samesignature. For example, the signature may comprise a specified pulsefrequency. The specified pulse frequency may be programmable.

Further according to this disclosure, another system for use in ahealthcare facility having a network may be provided. The system mayinclude an array of redundant bar codes and a patient bed that may bespaced from the array of redundant bar codes. The patient bed mayinclude circuitry that may comprise a bar code reader that may read atleast one of the redundant bar codes in the array. The circuitry may beconfigured to transmit data corresponding to the at least one of theredundant bar codes and to transmit bed identifier (ID) to the network.

The array of redundant bar codes may be affixed to a vertical surface ina room of the healthcare facility. In such embodiments, the patient bedmay include a frame that may have longitudinally spaced ends. The barcode reader may be mounted adjacent to one of the longitudinally spacedends. The vertical surface may comprise a wall of the room or a panel ofan architectural product that may be mounted to a wall of the room. Thearchitectural product may include a bed locator unit, a headwall unit,or a column, for example. Alternatively or additionally, the array ofredundant bar codes may be affixed to a horizontal surface in the room,such as the floor. The patient bed may include a frame and the bar codereader may be coupled to the frame so as to point downwardly toward thefloor.

In some embodiments, the array of redundant bar codes may include atleast one row having at least three identical bar codes. In otherembodiments, the array of redundant bar codes may include at least threerows each having at least three identical bar codes. It should beappreciated that this disclosure contemplates any number of rows andcolumns of redundant bar codes greater or lesser in number than three.

Another system contemplated by this disclosure may include a patient bedthat may have a frame, circuitry that may be carried by the frame, and agraphical user interface that may be carried by the frame and that maybe coupled to the circuitry. The graphical user interface may display atleast one user interface screen that may be used by a caregiver tomanually enter location data that may be indicative of a location in ahealthcare facility that may be occupied by the patient bed. Thecircuitry may transmit off of the bed the location data entered by thecaregiver and a bed identification (ID).

In some embodiments, the location data may comprise a room number. Thegraphical user interface may include a change button that may beselected to initiate a change of the location data. A keyboard screenmay appear on the graphical user interface in response to the changebutton being selected. The keyboard screen may permit the caregiver totype new location data that may be indicative of a new location that maybe occupied by the patient bed.

In some embodiments, the system may include at least one remote computerdevice that may receive the location data and the bed ID for purposes ofmaking a bed-to-room association. The patient bed may be coupled to theat least one remote computer device via a network of the healthcarefacility. The location data and the bed ID may be transmitted off of thebed in the form of a wireless transmission. The circuitry also maytransmit bed status data off of the bed.

In some embodiments, the location data may include unit data that may beindicative of a unit of the healthcare facility that may be occupied bythe patient bed and a room number of the unit in which the patient bedmay be situated. The graphical user interface may display a first screenthat may be used to select the unit of the healthcare facility that maybe occupied by the patient bed from a menu of units and a second screenthat may be used to select the room number from a menu of room numbers.

Further according to this disclosure, a system for associating a bed toa room of a healthcare facility may include a locator unit that may befixed in place and that may transmit a location ID. The system mayinclude a patient bed that may have first circuitry that may have afirst ID and that may receive the location ID. The patient bed may havesecond circuitry that may be independent of the first circuitry. Thesecond circuitry may be configured to transmit a bed ID and bed statusdata.

The system may further have a first transceiver that may be spaced fromthe locator unit and that may be spaced from the patient bed. The firsttransceiver may receive the first ID and location ID transmitted by thefirst circuitry. A second transceiver of the system may be spaced fromand independent of the first transceiver. The second transceiver mayreceive the bed ID and the bed status data that may be transmitted bythe second circuitry.

The system may also have a first remote computer device that may receivethe location ID and first ID that may be transmitted to the first remotecomputer device by the first transceiver. The system may further have asecond remote computer device that may receives the bed ID and the bedstatus data which may be transmitted to the second computer device bythe second transceiver. The first and second remote computer devices maycooperate to associate the location ID and the bed status data with thebed ID.

In some embodiments, the first circuitry may be included as part of atag that may attach to an exterior surface of the patient bed. The firstcircuitry may transmit the first ID and the location ID using a firstwireless transmission technology. The second circuitry may transmit thebed ID and the bed status data using a second wireless transmissiontechnology. The first wireless transmission technology may differ fromthe second wireless transmission technology. For example, the firstwireless transmission technology may comprise one of infraredtechnology, radio frequency technology, and ultrasonic technology andthe second wireless transmission technology may comprise a different oneof infrared technology, radio frequency technology, and ultrasonictechnology.

Another system according to this disclosure may include a locator unitthat may be fixed in place and that may transmit a location ID in afirst format. The system may also include a patient bed that may have abed ID and circuitry that may have stored therein ID translationsoftware. The circuitry may receive the location ID in the first formatand, in accordance with the ID translation software, may convert thelocation ID to a modified ID that may have a second format differentthan the first format. The circuitry may transmit the bed ID and themodified ID such that the location ID received by the circuitry of thepatient bed may not be transmitted by the circuitry.

The system may further include a remote computer device that may receivethe bed ID and the modified ID and that may determine a location of thepatient bed based on the modified ID. The modified ID may include a roomnumber of a room in a healthcare facility in which the patient bed maybe located and the translation software may include a look up table thatmay convert the location ID into the room number of the modified ID. Thelocation ID may have a different number of bits of information than themodified ID.

Yet another system according to this disclosure may comprise a locatorunit that may be fixed in place and that transmits a location ID. Thesystem further may have a patient bed that may have a bed ID andcircuitry that may have stored therein ID mutation software. Thecircuitry may receive the location ID and, in accordance with the IDmutation software, may mutate the location ID and the bed ID into amutated ID. The mutated ID may be a single unique ID. The circuitry maytransmit the mutated ID, whereby neither the location ID received by thecircuitry nor the bed ID of the patient bed may be transmitted by thecircuitry.

According to some embodiments, mutating the location ID and the bed IDinto the mutated ID may include adding the location ID and the bed ID tocreate an added ID. Mutating the location ID and the bed ID into themutated ID may further include applying a hashing function to the addedID to create a hashed ID. While any suitable hashing function iscontemplated by this disclosure, in some embodiments, the hashingfunction may comprise a cryptographic hashing function.

The system may further comprise a remote computer device that may havingdecoding software that may determine the location ID and the bed IDbased on the hashed ID. For example, the decoding software may include alook up table that may identify a location ID and a bed ID for eachpossible hashed ID. Alternatively or additionally, the decoding softwaremay generate comparison hashed ID's by sequentially adding and hashingall known bed ID's with all known location ID's until one of thecomparison hashed ID's matches the hashed ID then storing in anassociation database the location ID and the bed ID that caused thecomparison hashed ID to match the hashed ID.

According to each of the embodiments contemplated herein, the circuitryof the patient bed may also transmit bed status data and/or a patient IDof a patient assigned to the patient bed. According to some embodiments,the remote computer device may having decoding software that determinesthe location ID and bed ID based on the hashed ID and that associatesthe location ID, bed ID and the bed status data and/or the patient ID ina database.

According to this disclosure, a method may include receiving, withcircuitry on a patient bed, light from a light source that may emitvisible light that may have a signature that may be unique to a locationof the healthcare facility. The method may further include analyzing,using software stored in the circuitry of the patient bed, the lightfrom the light source to determine the signature corresponding to thelocation, and transmitting, using the circuitry of the patient bed, datacorresponding to the signature and a bed ID. In some embodiments, themethod further may include receiving, with a remote computer device, thebed ID and the data corresponding to the signature and associating thelocation of the patient bed with the patient bed.

Another method according to this disclosure may include receiving, withcircuitry on a patient bed, light from a light source that may beoperable to emit IR light that may have a signature that is unique to alocation of the healthcare facility and that may also be operable toemit visible light. The method may further include analyzing, usingsoftware stored in the circuitry of the patient bed, the IR light fromthe light source to determine the signature corresponding to thelocation and transmitting, using the circuitry of the patient bed, datacorresponding to the signature and a bed ID.

In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving, with aremote computer device, the bed ID and the data corresponding to thesignature and associating the location of the patient bed with thepatient bed based on the data corresponding to the signature. The IRlight that may have the signature may be transmitted only when thevisible light is turned off.

In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, with thecircuitry of the patient bed, visible light that may have the signaturesuch that the visible light and the IR light may have the samesignature. The signature of the visible light and/or the IR light maycomprise a specified pulse frequency. As mentioned above, the specifiedpulse frequency may be programmable.

Yet another method according to this disclosure includes scanning, usinga bar code scanner of a patient bed, at least one bar code from an arrayof redundant bar codes that may be mounted to a surface in a room. Thebar code may be indicative of a location of the room. The method mayfurther include transmitting off of the patient bed, using circuitry ofthe patient bed, data that may correspond to the at least one of theredundant bar codes and a bed ID.

In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving the datacorresponding to the at least one of the redundant bar codes andreceiving the bed ID at a remote computer device and associating thepatient bed with the location based on the data corresponding to the atleast one of the redundant bar codes and the bed ID. According to thisdisclosure, the surface to which the array of redundant bar codes may bemounted may comprise a surface of a room wall, a surface ofarchitectural equipment in the room, or a floor surface.

Still another method according to this disclosure includes displaying,on a graphical user interface of a patient bed, fields that a caregivermay select to manually enter location data indicative of a location in ahealthcare facility occupied by the patient bed. The method may furtherinclude receiving, on the graphical user interface, selections from thecaregiver of the location data and transmitting, from the patient bed,the location data entered by the caregiver and a bed ID.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving thelocation data and receiving the bed ID at a remote computer device andassociating the patient bed with the location based on the location dataand the bed ID. The location data may comprise a room number in someembodiments and may comprise a unit number (or a unit name) and a roomnumber in other embodiments.

Still a further method contemplated by this disclosure includestransmitting a location ID from a locator unit that may be fixed inplace in a room of a healthcare facility, receiving, with firstcircuitry of a patient bed that may be spaced from the locator unit, thelocation ID. The method may further include transmitting, from the firstcircuitry, a first ID and the location ID and transmitting, from secondcircuitry of the patient bed, a bed ID and bed status data. Stillfurther the method may include receiving, with a first transceiver thatmay be spaced from the locator unit and spaced from the patient bed, thefirst ID and location ID transmitted by the first circuitry andreceiving, with a second transceiver that may be spaced from andindependent of the first transceiver, the bed ID and the bed status datatransmitted by the second circuitry. The method may also includetransmitting the location ID and the first ID from the firsttransceiver, transmitting the bed ID and the bed status data from thesecond transceiver, receiving, with a first remote computer device, thelocation ID and first ID transmitted by the first transceiver,receiving, with a second remote computer device, the bed ID and the bedstatus data transmitted by the second transceiver, and associating thelocation ID with the bed status data and the bed ID via cooperationbetween the first and second remote computer devices.

According to this disclosure, another method may include transmitting alocation ID from a locator unit that may be fixed in place in ahealthcare facility. The location ID may have a first format. The methodalso may include receiving the location ID with circuitry of a patientbed that may be spaced from the locator unit and that has a bed ID. Thefurther may include converting the location ID that may have the firstformat to a modified ID that may have a second format using translationsoftware that may be stored in the circuitry of the patient bed. Thesecond format may be different than the first format. The method mayinclude transmitting, using the circuitry, the bed ID and the modifiedID, whereby the location ID received by the circuitry of the patient bedmay not be transmitted by the circuitry.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving, with aremote computer device, the bed ID and the modified ID and determining,with the remote computer device, a location of the patient bed based onthe modified ID. The modified ID may include a room number of a room ina healthcare facility in which the patient bed may be located and thetranslation software on the patient bed may include a look up table thatmay be used to convert the location ID into the room number of themodified ID. In some embodiments, the location ID has a different numberof bits of information than the modified ID.

Still another method according to this disclosure may includetransmitting a location ID from a locator unit that may be fixed inplace in a room of a healthcare facility, receiving the location ID incircuitry of a patient bed having a bed ID, and mutating the location IDand the bed ID into a mutated ID using ID mutation software that may bestored in the circuitry. The mutated ID may be a single unique ID. Themethod may further include transmitting the mutated ID from the patientbed, whereby neither the location ID received by the circuitry nor thebed ID of the patient bed may be transmitted by the patient bed.

In some embodiments, mutating the location ID and the bed ID into themutated ID may include adding the location ID and the bed ID to createan added ID. Mutating the location ID and the bed ID into the mutated IDmay further comprise applying a hashing function to the added ID tocreate a hashed ID. The hashing function may comprise a cryptographichashing function, for example.

The method may further comprise determining the location ID and the bedID based on the hashed ID at a remote computer using decoding software.The decoding software may include a look up table that identifies alocation ID and a bed ID for each possible hashed ID. Alternatively oradditionally, the decoding software may generate comparison hashed ID'sby sequentially adding and hashing all known bed ID's with all knownlocation ID's until one of the comparison hashed ID's matches the hashedID then storing in an association database the location ID and the bedID that caused the comparison hashed ID to match the hashed ID.

In some embodiments, the method may further include transmitting bedstatus data from the patient bed and, optionally, using a remotecomputer device to determine the location ID and the bed ID based on thehashed ID and to associate the location ID, bed ID and bed status datain a database. Alternatively or additionally, the method may includetransmitting from the patient bed a patient ID of a patient assigned tothe patient bed and, optionally, using a remote computer device todetermine the location ID and bed ID based on the hashed ID and toassociate the location ID, bed ID and patient ID in a database.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, a hospital bed for usewith a locating and tracking system may be provided and may include apatient support structure that may be configured to support a patient.The hospital bed may further have circuitry that may be carried by thepatient support structure and that may be in communication with thelocating and tracking system. The hospital bed may have an indicatorthat may be coupled to the circuitry and that may be signaled by thecircuitry to provide an indication that a successful bed-to-roomassociation has been made.

In some embodiments, the indicator may comprise a light. The light maybe turned on in response to the successful bed-to-room association beingmade and the light may be turned off in the absence of the successfulbed-to-room association. The light may be illuminated a first color inresponse to the successful bed-to-room association being made and thelight may be illuminated a second color in the absence of the successfulbed-to-room association. The indication that a successful bed-to-roomassociation has been made may be communicated to the circuitry from thelocating and tracking system.

The hospital bed may further include an indicator module that may beattachable as a unit to the patient support structure. The indicatormodule may include a housing and the indicator may be carried by thehousing. The circuitry may be carried by the housing. Alternatively oradditionally, the indicator module may include module circuitry that maybe in communication with the circuitry.

The hospital bed may have at least one other indicator. The at least oneother indicator may include a communication indicator to indicate that asuccessful communication link has been established to a network of ahealthcare facility. Alternatively or additionally, the at least oneother indicator may include an alarm monitor indicator to indicate thatone or more conditions of the hospital bed have been selected using aremote computer for monitoring of alarm conditions. Furtheralternatively or additionally, the at least one other indicator mayinclude a signal strength indicator that may indicate a strength of awireless communication link. For example, the signal strength indicatormay comprise a multi-color light that may be illuminated differentcolors to indicate different levels of signal strength of the wirelesscommunication link.

According to this disclosure, a method may include receiving at a firstcomputer device that is remote from a bed, bed data transmitted from thebed. The method may include receiving at the first computer device,prospective bed-to-room association data transmitted from a secondcomputer device to indicate that the bed is in a particular location,the second computer device may be included as part of a locating system.According to the method, after receiving the prospective bed-to-roomassociation data, the first computer device may analyze the bed data todetermine if it includes information indicating that a power cord of thebed is plugged into a power outlet. If the bed data includes informationindicating that the power cord is plugged into a power outlet, themethod includes storing the prospective bed-to-room association data ina database associated with the first computer device as finalizedbed-to-room association data.

In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a messagefrom the first computer device to the bed to notify the bed that asuccessful bed-to-room location has been made. Alternatively oradditionally, the method includes indicating on the bed that asuccessful bed-to-room association has been made. For example,indicating on the bed that a successful bed-to-room association has beenmade may comprise illuminating a light on the bed and/or displayinglocation information on a graphical display of the bed.

The method may further comprise detecting at the bed that the power cordhas become unplugged from the power outlet and ceasing indicating on thebed that a successful bed-to-room association has been made. The methodmay also comprise transmitting further bed data from the bed to thefirst computer device. The further bed data may include informationindicating that the power cord is unplugged.

In some embodiments, the method may further include disassociating thebed from the particular location at the first computer device afterreceiving at the first computer device the further bed data includingthe information that the power cord is unplugged. The method may furthercomprise displaying on a display screen coupled to the first computerdevice information to indicate that the bed-to-room association nolonger exists.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a system mayinclude a bed that may have bed circuitry that may be configured tocontrol bed functions, to receive wireless signals, and to transmitsignals. The system may also include a heart rate monitor that may beworn by a patient. The heart rate monitor may have monitor circuitrythat may be programmed to store a medical record number (MRN) of thepatient. The monitor circuitry also may be configured to transmit theMRN wirelessly to the bed circuitry. The bed circuitry may be configuredto transmit bed identification (ID) data and the MRN. A first remotecomputer device may be configured to receive the bed ID data and the MRNof the patient and may be configured to generate patient-to-bedassociation data for storage in a database based on the bed ID data andthe MRN.

In some embodiments, the monitor circuitry also may be configured totransmit heart rate data to the bed circuitry. The bed circuitry may beconfigured to transmit the heart rate data to the first remote computerdevice. Alternatively or additionally, the bed circuitry may beconfigured to transmit the heart rate data to a second remote computerdevice. In some embodiments, the heart rate monitor may have an armstrap that may attach to an arm of the patient. Alternatively oradditionally, the heart rate monitor may have a chest strap that mayattach to a chest of the patient.

According to still a further aspect of this disclosure, a systemincludes a bed that may have bed circuitry that may be configured tocontrol bed functions, to receive wireless signals, and to transmitsignals. The system may include a heart rate monitor that may be worn bya patient. The heart rate monitor may have monitor circuitry that maystore monitor identification (ID) data. The monitor circuitry maytransmit the monitor ID data wirelessly to the bed circuitry. The bedcircuitry may, in turn, transmit bed identification (ID) data and themonitor ID data. The system may further have a first remote computerdevice that may receive the bed ID data and the monitor ID data, thatmay correlate the monitor ID data with a medical record number (MRN) ofthe patient and that may generate patient-to-bed association data forstorage in a database based on the bed ID data and the MRN.

In some embodiments, the monitor circuitry also may be configured totransmit heart rate data to the bed circuitry. In such embodiments, thebed circuitry may be configured to transmit the heart rate data to thefirst remote computer device. Alternatively or additionally, the bedcircuitry may be configured to transmit the heart rate data to a secondremote computer device. In some embodiments, the heart rate monitor mayhave an arm strap that attaches to an arm of the patient. Alternativelyor additionally, the heart rate monitor may have a chest strap thatattaches to a chest of the patient.

According to yet another aspect of this disclosure, a system maycomprise a bed may have a first radio frequency (RF) communicationmodule that may have first identification (ID) data. The first RFcommunication module may transmit bed data and the first ID datawirelessly from the bed. The bed may have a power cord that carries atransponder. The system may further include a second RF communicationmodule that may be spaced from the bed and situated adjacent to a wallof a room in which the bed is located. The second RF communicationmodule may have second ID data. The second RF communication module mayreceive the bed data and first ID data transmitted wirelessly from thefirst RF communication module of the bed.

The system may also have a transponder reader that may be situatedadjacent to the wall of the room and that may be configured to readwireless information from the transponder including the first ID data.The system may include a communication circuit that is situated adjacentto the wall of the room. The communication circuit may be coupled to thetransponder reader and coupled to the second RF communication module.The communication circuit may be configured to receive the first ID datafrom the transponder reader and to receive the second ID data from thesecond RF communication module. The communication circuit may pair thefirst and second RF communication modules so that the second RFcommunication module only accepts communication packets from the firstRF communication module. Alternatively or additionally, thecommunication circuit may pair the first and second RF communicationmodules so that the communication board only accepts communicationpackets from the second RF communication module if the packets containthe first ID data.

In some embodiments, the bed may further include a Wi-Fi communicationmodule. In such embodiments, the first RF communication module and theWi-Fi communication module may be controlled so as to send wirelesstransmissions in different, non-overlapping time slots. In someembodiments, the communication circuit may be configured to send the beddata received via the first and second RF communication modules to aremote computer device.

The system may further have a data cable that may extend from the bedand which may be coupleable to the communication circuit. Thus, thecommunication circuit may receive the bed data transmitted by the bedover the data cable when the communication circuit is coupled to thedata cable. The communication circuit may cease to accept bed data fromthe second RF communication module and may accept only the bed datatransmitted over the data cable. In some embodiments, the bed mayinclude a siderail and the first RF communication module may be coupledto the siderail.

The transponder may comprise an RFID tag, if desired. For example, theRFID tag may be molded into a plug body of the power cord or may besituated on a label attached to the power cord. The transponder readermay comprise a loop antenna. The loop antenna may be located adjacent apower outlet to which the power cord couples.

Further according to this disclosure, a system may include a bed thatmay have a first radio frequency (RF) communication module that may havefirst identification (ID) data and a second RF communication module thatmay have second ID data. The first and second RF communication modulesmay transmit bed data and the respective first and second ID datawirelessly from the bed. The bed may have a power cord that may carry atransponder. A third RF communication module may be spaced from the bedand situated adjacent to a wall of a room in which the bed is located.The third RF communication module may have third ID data. The third RFcommunication module may receive wireless transmissions from the firstand second RF communication modules of the bed. The wirelesstransmissions may include the bed data and the respective first andsecond ID data transmitted wirelessly.

The system may further have a transponder reader that may be situatedadjacent to the wall of the room and that may be configured to readwireless information from the transponder including the first ID dataand the second ID data. A communication circuit of the system may besituated adjacent to the wall of the room. The communication circuit maybe coupled to the transponder reader and may be coupled to the third RFcommunication module. The communication circuit may be configured toreceive the first and second ID data from the transponder reader and toreceive the third ID data from the second RF communication module. Thecommunication circuit may pair the first and second RF communicationmodules with the third RF communication module so that the third RFcommunication module only accepts communication packets from the firstcommunication module or the second communication module.

In some embodiments, the third RF communication module may be configuredto assess signal strength of the wireless transmissions from the firstand second RF communication modules and to communicate only with thefirst or second RF communication module that may have greater signalstrength. Thus, the third RF communication module may operate as amaster and the first and second RF communication modules may eachoperate as a slave. If the third RF communication module is unable tocommunicate with the first and second RF communication modules, then analarm may be triggered by the third RF communication module.

In some embodiments, the bed may further include a Wi-Fi communicationmodule. The first and second RF communication modules and the Wi-Ficommunication module may be controlled so as to send wirelesstransmissions in different, non-overlapping time slots. Thecommunication circuit may be configured to send the bed data receivedvia the third RF communication module to a remote computer device.

The system may further include a data cable which may extend from thebed and which may be coupleable to the communication circuit. Thecommunication circuit may receive the bed data transmitted by the bedover the data cable when the communication circuit is coupled to thedata cable. The communication circuit may be configured to ceaseaccepting bed data from the third RF communication module and to acceptthe bed data transmitted over the data cable. The bed may include afirst siderail and a second siderail. The first RF communication modulemay be coupled to the first siderail and the second RF communicationmodule may be coupled to the second siderail.

In the system having the first, second and third communication modules,the transponder may comprise an RFID tag such as one molded into a plugbody of the power cord or on a label attached to the power cord. In sucha system, the transponder reader may comprises a loop antenna such asone that may be located adjacent a power outlet to which the power cordcouples.

Still further according to this disclosure, a bed-to-room associationsystem may comprise a bed that may have a power cord that may carry afirst RFID component and a receptacle module that may carry a secondRFID component. The receptacle module may have a receptacle into whichthe power cord may plug to receive power and to bring the first andsecond RFID components into communicative proximity. The receptaclemodule may have an indicator that may be activated in response tosuccessful communication being established between the first and secondRFID components.

In some embodiments, the indicator may comprise a light. The light maycomprise a light ring, for example. The light ring may surround thereceptacle. The first RFID component may comprise one of an RFID tag andan RFID reader and the second RFID component may comprise another of theRFID tag and RFID reader.

Also according to this disclosure, an apparatus for communicating with anurse call system of a healthcare facility may be provided. Theapparatus may include a bed that may have a first transceiver forwireless communication of bed identification (ID) data and bed statusdata. The apparatus may also include a handheld pillow speaker unit thatmay have a second transceiver in wireless communication with the firsttransceiver. The pillow speaker unit may be in hardwired communicationwith the nurse call system. Thus, the pillow speaker unit may serve as acommunication intermediary between the bed and the nurse call system.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include an interface unitthat may be fixed with respect to a wall in a patient room. The pillowspeaker unit may have a cable with a plug that may plug into theinterface unit. The interface unit may be communicatively coupled to thenurse call system.

The pillow speaker unit may include a first set of user inputs that maybe used to control at least one of the following: a television, a roomlight, and at least one window shade. The bed may include a second setof user inputs that may be used to control at least one of thefollowing: the television, the room light, and the at least one windowshade.

In some embodiments, use of the second set of user inputs may becommunicated from the first transceiver of the bed to the secondtransceiver of the pillow speaker unit. Thus, the pillow speaker unitmay include user inputs that are used to control bed functions.

It is contemplated by this disclosure that the pillow speaker unit mayinclude a set of manual buttons and a touchscreen graphical display thatdisplays electronic buttons. The manual buttons may include at least oneof the following: a nurse call button, a reading light button, and aroom light button. The manual buttons may further include at least oneof the following: a television control button, a radio control button,and a telephone dial pad button. The electronic buttons may includebuttons that may be used to send distinct preprogrammed messages to atleast one caregiver. At least one of the manual buttons and at least oneof the electronic buttons may control a same function.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a pillowspeaker unit that may communicate with a nurse call system in ahealthcare facility is provided. The pillow speaker unit may include ahandheld housing, a set of manual buttons that may be accessible on thehousing, and a touchscreen graphical display that may display electronicbuttons. At least one of the manual buttons and at least one of theelectronic buttons may be usable to send a respective signal to thenurse call system. The pillow speaker unit may include the featuresdiscussed previously.

Additional features, which alone or in combination with any otherfeature(s), such as those listed above and/or those listed in theclaims, may comprise patentable subject matter and will become apparentto those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of various embodiments exemplifying the best mode ofcarrying out the embodiments as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figuresin which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a patient bed having a sensor thatreceives light emitted from an overhead display screen (in solid) orfrom a wall-mounted display screen (in phantom), the light having asignature (indicated diagrammatically via a square wave) that is uniquefor the location occupied by the bed, the bed having circuitry (showndiagrammatically) that analyzes the signature and transmits datacorresponding to the signature and transmits a bed identifier (ID) toone or more remote computer devices (shown diagrammatically) via anetwork (shown diagrammatically)

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a number of lightbulbs that each emit light having a unique signature, each bulb beingassociated with a different room, and showing a sensor receiving thelight and signature from a first bulb, the bed having circuitry thatanalyzes the signature and transmits data corresponding to the signatureand transmits a bed ID to one or more remote computer devices via thenetwork;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a patientbed having a bar code scanner (shown diagrammatically) that scans atleast one bar code of an array of redundant bar codes that is affixed toa floor surface, the bed having circuitry (shown diagrammatically) thatis coupled to the bar code scanner and that transmits data correspondingto the at least one bar code and bed ID to the network;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a bed, similar to that of FIG.3, having a bar code scanner (shown diagrammatically) that scans atleast one bar code of an array of redundant bar codes that is affixed toa vertical surface of a bed locator unit, the bed having circuitry(shown diagrammatically) that is coupled to the bar code scanner andthat transmits data corresponding to the at least one bar code and bedID to the network;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing a graphical user interface (GUI)of a bed having a touch screen display that displays a room number and achange button, the bed being coupled to one or more remote computerdevices via a network and the bed transmitting the room number and a bedID to the one or more remote computer devices via the network;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view, similar to FIG. 5, showing a keypad thatappears on the GUI after selection of the change button, the keypadbeing usable by a caregiver to enter a new room number corresponding toa new location of the bed;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view, similar to FIG. 5, showing the new roomnumber being displayed on the GUI, the new room number and bed ID beingtransmitted by the bed to the one or more remote computer devices viathe network.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of an alternative embodiment showing theGUI displaying a menu of unit ID's that appear on a drop down menu inresponse to selection of the change button;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view, similar to FIG. 8, showing the GUIdisplaying a menu of room ID's that appear on a drop down menu inresponse to selection of the unit ID on the GUI screen of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing a Confirm Association screen thatappears on the GUI after the unit ID and room ID have been selected, ayes button that is selected by the caregiver to confirm the associationof the bed to the selected unit and the selected room, the bedtransmitting the selected unit ID and the selected room ID, along with abed ID, to the one or more remote computer devices via the network;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of an algorithm of the bed that is embodied insoftware and that is executed to permit selection of the unit ID and theroom ID by the caregiver;

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view showing a patient bed having a tag thatreceives a locator ID from a fixed location unit and that transmits atag ID and the locator ID to a first transceiver that, in turn,transmits via a network the tag ID and the locator ID to a first remotecomputer device, the patient bed having circuitry that transmits a bedID and bed status data to a second transceiver that, in turn, transmitsvia the network the bed ID and the bed status data to a second remotecomputer device, and the first and second computer devices beingcommunicatively coupled so as to cooperate to associate the location IDand the bed status data with the bed ID;

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic view showing a locator unit transmitting alocation ID_(A), a bed receiving location ID_(A) and having IDtranslation software stored in bed circuitry that converts locationID_(A) to location ID_(B), the bed transmitting a bed ID and locationID_(B) to at least one remote computer device via a network, whereby thelocation ID_(A) received by the circuitry of the patient bed is nottransmitted by the circuitry;

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic view showing a locator unit transmitting alocation ID, a bed having circuitry receiving the location ID and havingID mutation software that is stored in the circuitry and that mutatesthe location ID and a bed ID into a mutated ID that is a single uniqueID that is transmitted by the circuitry of the bed to at least oneremote computer device via a network, the remote computer device havingID decoding software that determines the location ID and bed ID thatcorresponds to the mutated ID;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an indicator module exploded awayfrom a hospital bed, the indicator module having three LED's, one ofwhich is illuminated to indicate that a successful bed-to-roomassociation has been made;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a wireless bed-to-room association systemsimilar to that of FIG. 12 showing that location information istransmitted from a remote server to the circuitry of the hospital bed;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing an algorithm of a portion of thesoftware executed by the remote server of the system of FIG. 16 in whichthe remote server first confirms that the hospital bed is plugged intoan AC outlet prior to sending the location information to the circuitryof the hospital bed;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a disassociation algorithm implementedby the hospital bed and remote server of FIG. 16 in response to thehospital bed being disconnected from an AC power outlet;

FIG. 19 is a diagrammatic view showing a patient-to-bed associationsystem in which a wireless heart rate monitor sends data, including thepatient's medical record number (MRN), to circuitry of a hospital bedwhich, in turn, transmits the patient's MRN and a bed ID for used by aremote computer device to associate the patient to the bed;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of another bed data system in which a bedequipped with one or two bed Bluetooth (BT) modules communicates with awall BT module for transmission of bed data after a BT pairing operationis conducted based on transmission of bed BT module ID data via atransponder carried by a plug of a power cord of the hospital bed;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a prior art bed that lacks any BTmodules still being usable with the system of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram similar to FIG. 21 but having a networkinterface unit (NIU) with two 37-pin cable connection ports so that acable from a wall communication board remains plugged into one of theports of the NIU even when a prior art bed has its 37-pin cable pluggedinto the other port of the NIU;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a first AC power cord having anRFID tag molded into a plug body and showing a second AC power cordhaving an RFID tag included in a label that attaches to a cord portionadjacent a plug body;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing an AC cord having a plug thatcarries a first RFID component and a receptacle module having a secondRFID component, a light-up ring is provided around a receptacle of thereceptacle module and is illuminated when a successful bed-to-roomassociation has been made;

FIG. 25 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the AC cord of FIGS.23 and 24;

FIG. 26 is a diagrammatic view of a further bed-to-room associationsystem in which wireless communication is established between circuitryof a bed and a handheld pillow speaker which acts as a communicationintermediary between the bed and a nurse call system as well as one ormore other remote computer devices;

FIG. 27 is a front elevation view of a first embodiment of a handheldpillow speaker unit showing the pillow speaker unit having a graphicaluser interface (GUI) with touchscreen buttons and a number of manualbuttons beneath the GUI; and

FIG. 28 is a front elevation view of a second embodiment of a handheldpillow speaker unit showing the pillow speaker unit having a GUI withtouchscreen buttons, a manual nurse call button beneath the GUI, a firston/off button for control of a first light, and a second on/off buttonfor control of a second light.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Throughout FIGS. 1-28, a bed 20 has circuitry 22 that transmits data ofvarious types in various embodiments as discussed below via a network 24to one or more remote computer devices 26. FIGS. 1-4, 13 and 14 eachshow a diagrammatic transmitter 28 that is coupled to, or included aspart of, circuitry 22. It should be understood that each bed 20 has atransmitter of some type, such as illustrative transmitter 28 which, insome embodiments, is included as part of a transceiver. It iscontemplated by this disclosure that transmitter 28 transmits datawirelessly, but that is not to say that transmitter 28 is excluded fromsending data over a wired connection to network 24 in contemplatedembodiments, if desired. In FIGS. 15 and 16, modules 150, 150′,respectively, are included on bed 20 and have wireless communicationcapability. In FIG. 20, a first module 232 and an optional, secondmodule 234 are included on bed 20 and have wireless communicationcapability. In FIG. 26, bed 20 has a module 150″ with wirelesscommunication capability.

While circuitry 22 is shown in the various figures as a singlediagrammatic block, it should be understood that the single block isintended to represent all of the circuitry found on a patient bed andsuch circuitry may be embodied in separate, but interconnected, modulesand/or circuit boards. In other words, circuitry 22 of patient bed 20comprises a large complex circuit. See, for example, “Service Manual,Progressa™ Bed From Hill-Rom,” © 2013, Hill-Rom Services, Inc.; “ServiceManual, TotalCare® Bed System From Hill-Rom,” © 2008, Hill-Rom Services,Inc.; and “Service Manual, VersaCare® Bed From Hill-Rom,” © 2008,Hill-Rom Services, Inc.; each of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,771,511 and 7,506,390, eachof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Furthermore, network 24 (aka Ethernet 24 in FIGS. 13 and 14) isrepresented diagrammatically by a cloud image in the various figures.This image is intended to represent all of the hardware components andsoftware that make up various types of networks in a healthcarefacility. The architecture and functionality of such networks can varywidely. Suffice it to say that, in some embodiments, the networks 24contemplated herein have wireless access points for wirelessconnectivity to the network by various devices, including bed 20.Alternatively or additionally, networks 24 contemplated herein haveports, such as ports that receive RJ-45 connectors, for wired connectionof various devices, including bed 20, to the respective network 45.Thus, network 24 includes, for example, computer devices such as nursecall computers, electronic medical records (EMR) computers,admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) computers, and the like. Examples ofthe type of communication equipment included in various embodiments of anurse call system (as well as network 24, in general) can be found inU.S. Pat. Nos. 8,598,995; 8,384,526; 8,169,304; 8,046,625; 7,746,218;7,538,659; 7,319,386; 7,242,308; 6,897,780; 6,362,725; 6,147,592;5,838,223; 5,699,038 and 5,561,412, all of which are hereby incorporatedby reference herein in their entirety to the extent that they are notinconsistent with the present disclosure which shall control as to anyinconsistencies.

The various embodiments disclosed herein relate to systems and methodsfor making bed-to-room associations in a healthcare facility. This isaccomplished by associating a bed identifier (ID) and a locationidentifier (ID) in a database of a computer device 26, such as a serveror other computer. The term “room” in the phrase “bed-to-room” isintended to include not just patient rooms, but also hallways, serviceareas, supply rooms, elevators, cleaning rooms, and any other locationin a healthcare facility which may be occupied by a bed. In each of theembodiments disclosed herein, other types of data may also be associatedwith the bed and/or room in the database, such as a patient ID, bedstatus data, data from other types of medical equipment (e.g., IV pumps,therapy equipment, vital signs equipment, and so forth), and data fromother medical systems (e.g., electronic medical records (EMR) system,admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) system, pharmacy system, laboratorysystem, and so forth). Thus, patient-to-room; patient-to-bed; andpatient-to-bed-to-room systems and methods are contemplated herein. Itshould also be appreciated that the order of association makes nodifference and that “bed-to-room” and “room-to-bed” associations meanthe same thing and that “patient-to-bed-to-room” and“room-to-patient-to-bed” associations mean the same thing, just to givea couple examples.

Referring now to FIG. 1, bed 20 has a sensor 30 that receives lightemitted from an overhead display screen 32. In an alternativeembodiment, screen 32 is omitted and the light received by sensor 30 isemitted from a wall-mounted display 34 screen (in phantom). Screen 32,in some embodiment, is operated to display one or more nature scenesthat are conducive to a patients recovery and/or one or more night skyscenes that are conducive to helping the patient fall asleep. Screen 34,in some embodiments, is included as part of a room station of a nursecall system or as part of some other computer device in the room.

The light emitted from screens 32, 34 is visible light that has asignature 36 (indicated diagrammatically via a square wave). Thesignature 36 is unique for the location occupied by the bed 20. That is,the signature of the light emitted from screens 32, 34 is different fordifferent rooms. Circuitry 30 is coupled to sensor 30 and analyzes theemitted light to determine its signature 36. In some embodiments, sensor30 comprises a camera and in other embodiments, sensor 30 comprises ared-green-blue (RGB) image sensor chip. The signature 36 is emitted at aspecified wavelength and/or at a specified pulsed frequency. The pulsedfrequency is sufficiently large and/or the wavelength is sufficientlyshort in duration so as to be imperceptible to human vision. Thespecified wavelength and/or the specified pulse frequency is unique toeach room. Thus, by analyzing the emitted light to determine thesignature 36, data corresponding to the signature 36 is usable todetermine the location of bed 20 in the associated healthcare facility.

Circuitry 22 commands transmitter 28 to transmit data corresponding tothe signature and also commands transmitter 28 to transmit a bedidentifier (ID) to at least one remote computer device 26 via a network24. Typically, the data corresponding to the signature and the bed IDare included in the same message packet. The remote computer device 26then makes the bed-to-room association based on the data correspondingto the signature and the bed ID. Thus, the remote computer device 26includes a table or other similar type of relational database thatcorrelates the data corresponding to the signature with a particularlocation, such as a patient room number, in the healthcare facility.

Referring now to FIG. 2, light bulbs 38 a-e are shown diagrammaticallyand each light bulb 38 a-e emits light having a unique signature. Itshould be understood that each bulb 38 a-e is located in a differentroom of the healthcare facility. In the illustrative example of FIG. 2,bulb 38 a is in communication with bed 20. Thus, sensor 30 receives thelight and signature from a first bulb 32 a as indicated diagrammaticallyin FIG. 2 with dashed arrow 39. Just like the embodiment of FIG. 1,circuitry 22 of bed 20 analyzes the emitted light to determine thesignature and transmits data corresponding to the signature andtransmits bed ID to at least one remote computer device 36 via thenetwork 24 and computer device 36 makes the bed-to-room associationbased on the received signature data and bed ID.

In some embodiments, bulbs 38 a-e are high-power white LED lightbulbsthat are programmable to emit a specified wavelength at a specifiedpulsed frequency. For example, bulbs 38 are programmable to emitdifferent percentages of blue, red and green light (e.g., 11% blue, 30%red, and 59% green) which still appear generally as white light. In someembodiments, the bulb 38 a-e in each room emit the same percentage ofblue, red and green light, but at a different pulsed frequency for eachroom. In some embodiments, sensor 30 is embodied as a simplephotovoltaic sensor and the unique light signatures are created byvarying a power duty cycle of the associated light source without regardto wavelength. For example, the light source is turned on and off (e.g.,flickered) at a specified frequency which is imperceptible to humanvision but which is unique to each room.

Suitable programmable bulbs 38 a-e are available from ByteLight ofBoston, Mass. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,520,065; 8,457,502; 8,436,896;8,432,438; 8,416,290; 8,334,901; 8,334,898; and 8,248,467; each of whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein.

In some embodiments, in order to enable locating to take place in roomsthat have the light source turned off, a source of infrared (IR) lightis emitted with a signature and sensed by sensor 30. The processingthereafter is the same as described above with regard to signaturesincluded in the light emitted from screens 32, 34 and bulbs 38 a-e. TheIR light pulses, in some embodiments, are at a lower frequency which ispossible because IR light is not visible to humans anyway. Thus, avisible light signature and an IR light signature may each indicate thesame room, although their pulsed frequencies are different. In otherembodiments, the IR light pulses are at the same pulsed frequency as thevisible light pulses. In any event, it should be understood that the IRlight signatures are different from room to room.

A lower amount of power is used to drive the IR light sources when thelight sources of visible and IR light are in night mode. While it ispossible for the IR light source to be separate from the light sourcesdescribed above, it is contemplated by this disclosure that the IR lightsource is included in the same light source that emits visible lightwhen in the on state. In such embodiments, when the visible light sourceis turned on, some of the applied power is stored in a battery orcapacitor or other energy storage device and is used to drive the IRlight source after the visible light source is turned off. In someembodiment, therefore, the IR light source only operates when thevisible light is turned off. In other embodiments, the IR light sourceoperates all the time.

In some embodiments, bed 20 includes two sensors 30, one for the visiblelight and one for the IR light. However, combined RGB and IR image orlight sensors are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2010/00289885 which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein. Such a device or similar such devices may be usedas the sensor 30 of bed 20 if desired.

Referring now to FIG. 3, bed 20 has a bar code scanner 40 that scans atleast one bar code 42 of an array 44 of redundant bar codes 42 that areaffixed to a floor surface 46 of other horizontal surface. In someembodiments, array 44 of bar codes 42 is included on a floor mat thatlies on the floor 46 and, in other embodiments, array 44 of bar codes 42is included on a label that sticks to the floor 46. In still otherembodiments, bar codes 42 are included on one or more floor tiles thatform part of the floor surface. Circuitry 22 commands transmitter 28 totransmit data corresponding to the at least one bar code 42 and a bed IDto one or more remote computer devices 26 via the network 24. Thebed-to-room association is then made by the remote computer device 26based on the data corresponding to the at least one bar code 42 and thebed ID. Having redundant bar codes 42 is an improvement over prior artsystem that may have only one bar code to be read by a bar code scanner.This is because the bed 20 does not need to be as precisely placedwithin the hospital room. Scanner 40 just needs to read one of the barcodes 42 of the array 44. In the illustrative example of FIG. 3, scanner40 is mounted to an upper frame of the overall bedframe of bed 20 andscans downwardly through a large opening defined by frame members of abase frame of the bedframe of bed 20.

Referring now to FIG. 4, bed 20 has a bar code scanner 40′ mounted toits upper frame and arranged to scan at least one bar code 42 of anarray 44 of redundant bar codes 42 that is affixed to a vertical surface48 of a bed locator unit 50 that is mounted to a room wall 52. In otherembodiments, array 44 is affixed to room wall 52 or to a panel 54 of apiece of architectural equipment, such as, for example, the illustrativecolumn 56, a headwall unit or an arm. Circuitry 22 commands transmitter28 to transmit data corresponding to the at least one bar code 42 readby scanner 40′ and a bed ID to one or more remote computer devices 26via the network 24. The bed-to-room association is then made by theremote computer device 26 based on the data corresponding to the atleast one bar code 42 and the bed ID. Having redundant bar codes 42 on avertical surface, such as illustrative surface 48, is an improvementover prior art system that may have only one bar code to be read by abar code scanner. By having redundant bar codes 42, the bed 20 does notneed to be as precisely placed within the hospital room. Scanner 40′just needs to read one of the bar codes 42 of the array 44. In theillustrative example of FIG. 4, scanner 40′ is mounted to an upper frameof the overall bedframe of bed 20 and scans generally horizontallyoutwardly from a head end of the bed 20.

Although only one row is included in the array 44 of FIG. 4, it will beappreciated that multiple rows are within the scope of this disclosure.Having multiple rows permits upper frame of bed 20 to be adjusted manydifferent heights and yet scanner 40′ can still read one of the barcodes 42 of the multi-rom array. Furthermore, while array 44 of FIG. 44has five bar codes 42 and while each row of array 44 of FIG. 3 has threebar codes, embodiments having more or less bar codes 42 than three orfive in any given row are within the scope of this disclosure. Moreover,arrays 42 having any number of rows greater than one are within thescope of this disclosure, the upper limit being bounded primarily by thesize of the bar codes 42 and the size of the surface against which thearray 44 is placed.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, in an alternative embodiment according tothis disclosure, bed 20 has a graphical user interface (GUI) 60 with atouch screen display 62 that displays a current room number, here “237,”and a change button 64 on a home screen as shown in FIG. 5. As with theother embodiments disclosed herein, bed 20 of FIGS. 5-7 is coupled toone or more remote computer devices 26 via network 24 and the remotecomputer device(s) 26 make bed-to-room associations based on receivedlocation ID and bed ID.

In response to a caregiver selecting change button 64 on GUI 60, akeypad 66 appears on the GUI 60. The text “Enter Room Number” appearsabove keypad 66 in the illustrative example to suggest to the caregiverthat a new room number be entered into the memory of circuitry 22 toreplace the old room number. In the illustrative example, keypad 66includes buttons having numbers 0-9 arranged in similar manner as astandard telephone, a back button 68, an enter button 70, and cancelbutton 72. In other embodiments an alphanumeric keyboard is provided topermit the user to indicate whether the bed is at an “A” location or a“B” location in a semi-private room for example.

Keypad 66 is used by a caregiver to enter the room number in which bed20 is located into the memory of circuitry 22 of bed 20. Circuitry 22 ofbed 20 then transmits the room number in any suitable format along withthe bed ID to one or more remote computer devices 26 via network 24.Thus, the room number manually entered by the user or caregiver servesas the location ID for the respective bed 20. Bed 20 does not rely onany external device or artifact (e.g., light source, locator unit, barcode label, etc.) for obtaining the location ID to be transmitted fromthe bed 20. Accordingly, the embodiment of FIGS. 5-7, as well as thealternative embodiment of FIGS. 8-11 discussed below, are the lowestcost embodiments contemplated by this disclosure.

In the example of FIG. 6, the caregiver has entered a new room number,here “103,” using keypad 66. If the caregiver wishes to revise theentered number, the back button 68 is selected and a revised digit canbe entered by the caregiver using one of the numeric keys of keypad 66.If the caregiver is satisfied that the correct room number is entered,the caregiver selects the enter key 70. If the caregiver wishes to abortthe room number change altogether, the caregiver selects the cancel key72. After the enter key 70 is selected, GUI 60 returns to the homescreen, as shown in FIG. 7, but having the new room number displayed onscreen 62. Thereafter, circuitry 22 of bed 20 transmits the new (now thecurrent) room number as the location ID rather than the old room number.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in some embodiments, after selection of thechange button 64 of FIG. 5, an alternative screen appears on GUI 60 andon this alternative screen is displayed a menu of unit ID's, such as adrop down menu. The user then selects the desired unit by touching thedisplay screen 62 over the text corresponding to the desired unit. Inthe illustrative example, the text “Unit 1,” “Unit 2,” and “Unit 3”appears in menu 74, but other unit names such as ICU, NICU, Med/Surg,Neurology, Pediatrics, and so forth, just to name a few, are within thescope of this disclosure. The text appearing in menu 74 is dictated bythe programming of the software stored in circuitry 22 of bed 20. Acancel button 75 appears beneath menu 74 in the FIG. 8 example and isselected by a caregiver to abort changing the location ID of bed 20.

In response to selection of the desired unit from unit menu 74 of FIG.8, a room menu 76 appears on screen 62 of GUI 60 as shown in FIG. 9.Room menu 76 lists the rooms that are within the unit selected from menu74. In the illustrative example, the text “Room 101A,” “Room 101B,” and“Room 102” appears in menu 76, but other room identifiers are within thescope of this disclosure. The text appearing in menu 76 is dictated bythe programming of the software stored in circuitry 22 of bed 20. Cancelbutton 75 also appears beneath menu 76 in the FIG. 9 example and isselected by a caregiver to abort changing the location ID of bed 20. Byproviding one or both of menus 74, 76, rather than keypad 66, caregiversare only able to select location designators that are in thepre-approved format. In other words, it might be possible for caregiversto use keypad 66 to enter an erroneous room designation or to enter aroom number that doesn't exist. By having menus 74, 76 with options fromwhich caregivers select, the possibility for unit/room ID errors isminimized.

In response to selection of the desired room from room menu 76 of FIG.9, a Confirm Association screen 78 appears on the GUI 60 as shown inFIG. 10. In the illustrative example of FIG. 10, there is textindicating that “Unit 1” was selected by the caregiver from menu 74 and“Room 101A” was selected by the caregiver from menu 76. Screen 78includes a yes button 80 that is selected by the caregiver to confirmthe association of the bed 20 to the selected unit and the selectedroom. The unit and room information, therefore, becomes the location IDfor bed 20 in response to button 80 being selected. Bed 20, thereafter,transmits the selected unit ID and the selected room ID (now, thelocation ID), along with a bed ID, to one or more remote computerdevices 26 via the network 24 and the one or more remote computerdevice(s) makes the bed-to-room association based on those ID's. Screen78 has a Try again button 82 that the caregiver selects to return to thescreen of FIG. 8 having the unit menu 74 to start the process anew.Screen 78 also has the back button 75 that is selected by the caregiverto abort the room change operation and return to the home screen of FIG.5, for example.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flow chart 90 is provided and isillustrative of software that is executed, in some embodiments, by bed20 and by a remote server 26 to permit selection of the unit ID and theroom ID by the caregiver in response to AC Power being applied or aftera new patient arrives at the bed. In the embodiment contemplated by theflow chart of FIG. 11, bed 20 is capable of two way communication withthe remote computer device or server 26. Accordingly, as indicated atblock 84, after AC power is applied to the bed 20 (e.g., a power cord ofthe bed gets plugged into an AC outlet after having been unplugged) orafter a new patient arrives at the bed 20, bed 20 queries the server foran association database as indicated at block 86. Thus, prior to use ofbed 20, a server configuration is performed at the server 26 asindicated at block 88 of flow chart 90. During the server configuration,association data indicative of which rooms are included as part of eachunit are entered into a database of server as indicated at block 92until complete as indicated at block 94, at which point an associationdatabase exists for use by bed 20 as indicated at block 96. In someembodiments, prior bed-to-room associations are also populated in theassociation database of block 96.

After bed 20 queries server 26 for the existence of the associationdatabase, bed 20 proceeds to block 98 and determines whether the bed 20is associated with a location, which in this example means the bed 20 isassociated with a unit and a room. If there is no bed-to-locationassociation in the database, then bed 20 proceeds to block 100 and thescreen of FIG. 8 is presented to the caregiver on GUI 60 for selectionof the appropriate unit occupied by the bed 20. After unit selection,bed 20 proceeds to block 102 and the screen of FIG. 9 is presented tothe caregiver on GUI 60 for selection of the appropriate room occupiedby the bed 20. After room selection, bed 20 proceeds to block 104 andthe Confirm Association screen of FIG. 10 is presented to the caregiveron GUI 60. As indicated at block 106, if the caregiver selects the yesbutton 80, bed 20 proceeds to update the association database asindicated at block 108 such as by, for example, transmitting the bed IDand the manually entered location ID to the server 26 via network 24. Atthat point, the bed is associated with the location (room and unit inthis example) as indicated at block 110.

If at block 106, the caregiver selects the Try again button 82, bed 20proceeds back to block 100 as indicated in FIG. 11 and the softwarealgorithm proceeds from there as already discussed above. If at block106, the caregiver selects the cancel button 75, the bed 20 is notassociated with any location and the association database is updated toindicate that there is no location associated with the bed. In someembodiments, further notifications are displayed on screen 62 of GUI toadvise the caregiver that the bed is not associated and that thecaregiver should try again by selection of button 82.

If at block 98 bed determines that it is associated with a location inthe association database, bed 20 proceed to block 112 and determines howlong the bed 20 experienced the AC power loss, such as being unplugged.As indicated at block 114, if the power loss was less than two minutes,then bed proceeds to block 110 and the prior bed-to-location associationis maintained. If the power loss was more than two minutes, asdetermined at block 114, then Confirm Association screen 78 of FIG. 10is presented to the caregiver on GUI 60 so that the caregiver canconfirm the bed to location association or change it. As indicated in anotes block 116 of FIG. 11, in some embodiments, a universal serial bus(USB) stick is used in lieu of or in addition to the server 26 to storethe association database. Thus, in some embodiments, the associationdatabase is loaded periodically into the memory of circuitry 22 of bed20 using a USB stick or other similar type of portable memory device.

Referring now to FIG. 12, bed 20 has separate circuitry thatcommunicates with first and second remote computer devices 26 a, 26 bvia separate and generally parallel communication channels. According tothis disclosure, first circuitry of bed 20 is included on a locating tag118 that is affixed to bed 20 to be transported therewith. A locator orlocation unit 120 is mounted at a fixed location unit in the room, suchas on a room wall, and transmits a locator ID to the tag 118. The tag118 transmits a tag ID and the locator ID to a first transceiver 122that, in turn, transmits via network 24 the tag ID and the locator ID tothe first remote computer device 26 a. Circuitry 22 of bed 20 serves asthe second circuitry in this embodiment and transmits a bed ID and bedstatus data to a second transceiver 124 that, in turn, transmits via thenetwork 24 the bed ID and the bed status data to the second remotecomputer device 26 b. The first and second computer devices 26 a, 26 bare communicatively coupled, as indicated by the double headed arrow126, so as to cooperate to associate the location ID and the bed statusdata with the bed ID. The association can occur in computer device 26 a,computer device 26 b, or both.

It is contemplated by this disclosure that the first circuitry of tag118 transmits the first ID and the location ID using a first wirelesstransmission technology and that the second circuitry, here circuitry 22of bed 20, transmits the bed ID and the bed status data using a secondwireless transmission technology that is different than the firstwireless transmission technology. For example, the first wirelesstransmission technology may comprise one of infrared (IR) technology,radio frequency (RF) technology, and ultrasonic (US) technology and thesecond wireless transmission technology comprises a different one of IRtechnology, RF technology, and ultrasonic technology.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a further embodiment according to thisdisclosure includes a locator unit 130 that is mounted to a fixedlocation in a healthcare facility. Unit 130 has circuitry 132 with atransmitter 134 that is commanded by circuitry 132 to transmit a firstlocation ID, which in the illustrative example is designated as locationID_(A). Circuitry 22 of bed 20 receives location ID_(A) and has IDtranslation software 136 that is stored in circuitry 22 and thatconverts location ID_(A) to a second location ID (sometimes referred toherein as a modified ID), which in the illustrative example isdesignated as location ID_(B). For example, in some embodiments, themodified ID is or includes a room number of a room in a healthcarefacility in which the patient bed is located and the translationsoftware 136 includes a look up table that correlates the location IDwith the room number of the modified ID. Thereafter, circuitry 22 of bed20 commands transmitter 28 to transmit a bed ID and location ID_(B)(i.e., the modified ID) to at least one remote computer device 26 vianetwork 24, whereby the location ID_(A) received by the circuitry of thepatient bed 20 is not transmitted by the circuitry 22 of bed 20. Forexample, if the location ID_(A) is 16 bits or 32 bits, or more, inlength, the location ID_(B) may be shorter in length and yet stillsuitable for the purpose of indicating the room location, such as being8 bits, thereby conserving transmission power and increasing bandwidthof network 24 by reducing the number of bits that are transmitted by bed20 over the network 24.

According to this disclosure, the modified ID created by bed translationsoftware 136 may also be in a more desirable format for receipt by othercomputer devices 26. For example, if location ID_(A) is a MAC address oflocator unit 130, administrators of a healthcare facility may prefer toreceive from bed 20 ASCII code of the room number for use in variousother software programs on computer devices 26. Translation software136, therefore, permits modified ID to be converted into the desiredformat. Computer devices(s) 26, therefore, operate to associate the bedID and modified ID in an association database and make no use oflocation ID_(A).

Referring now to FIG. 14, another embodiment according to thisdisclosure includes a locator unit 130′ that is mounted to a fixedlocation in a healthcare facility. Unit 130′ has circuitry 132′ with atransmitter 134′ that is commanded by circuitry 132′ to transmit alocation ID. Circuitry 22 of bed 20 receives the location ID and has IDmutation software 140 that is stored in circuitry 22 and that mutatesthe location ID and the bed ID into to a single, unique mutated ID.Thereafter, circuitry 22 of bed 20 commands transmitter 28 to transmitthe mutated ID to at least one remote computer device 26 via network 24,whereby the mutated ID transmitted from the patient bed 20 is neitherthe location ID nor the bed ID.

The mutation software 140, in some embodiments, uses a hash function,such as a cryptographic hash function, to mutate the location ID and thebed ID into the single, unique mutated ID. The one or more remotecomputer devices 26 then use ID decoding software 142 to correlate themutated ID with the location ID and the bed ID. However, it should beappreciated that neither the location ID nor the bed ID were evertransmitted by the bed 20 to any device on the network 24.

To illustrate the method employed by software 140, consider the scenarioin which location ID is in the form ROOM_ID_0001 and the bed ID is inthe form BED_ID_0001. The software may add the location ID and the roomID and perform the hashing function by using software programming codesuch as SHA1(ROOM_ID_0001+BED_ID_0001) and the resulting mutated ID, inhexadecimal format, is the following:57e4f41a507079311acbb588d14cae4d564c7d43. While this example used theknown SHA-1 hashing function, other known hashing functions may beemployed in software 140, including the following: GOST, HAVAL, MD2,MD4, MD5, PANAMA, RadioGatun, RIPEMD, SHA-0, SHA-3, Tiger(2), andWHIRLPOOL.

Once the modified ID is created by the adding and hashing operation justdescribed, the modified ID is transmitted off of the bed for receipt byone or more remote computer devices 26. The software 142 of each remotecomputer device 26 then uses a lookup table, in some embodiments, tocorrelate the received modified ID with the bed ID and room ID thatcreated it. The lookup table includes the modified ID's and theassociated bed ID and room ID for each possible combination of beds androoms in a particular healthcare facility. An simple example of a lookuptable for two beds that may be located in two different rooms is givenas follows (and assumes a hashing function applied to the added room IDand bed ID as described above):

Bed ID Room ID Modified (e.g., added and hashed) ID BED_ID_0001ROOM_ID_0001 ffa6160a5ba73befd3f0cfdd5554613fad2094ed BED_ID_0002ROOM_ID_0001 6818ae262ae95541b03f5367829c1507e32ac595 BED_ID_0001ROOM_ID_0002 bf2019c988268cd007ef7dcb0a280d1e75c8dd45 BED_ID_0002ROOM_ID_0002 c1bf987848b483a8c6af9c4cf716466575db3dc7Thus, if a bed with BED_ID_0001 as its bed ID is physically located in aroom with ROOM_ID_0002 as its room ID, then bed 20 transmits via network24 the modified ID bf2019c988268cd007ef7dcb0a280d1e75c8dd45 to theremote computer device 26 having software 142 and the softwarecorrelates the modified ID back to the room ID and bed ID that createdit. However, neither the bed ID nor the room ID is transmitted by bed20.

In an alternative embodiment, software 142 uses a list of all known bedID's and a list of all known room ID's and the server computes themodified ID's (e.g., by adding and hashing) sequentially and compareseach one to the received modified ID until a match is found, at whichthe point the bed ID and room ID that caused the match are known. Thisapproach eliminates the need to store a large table of knowncombinations, but does potentially require a fair amount ofcomputational power to perform the mutating operation sequentially.

In another contemplated embodiment, the bed only transmits a received orentered (e.g., via GUI 60) location ID along with other data such as bedstatus data. Thus, the bed ID is not transmitted off of the bed whilethe bed is in use. In such embodiments, the location ID is considered tobe the bed ID while the bed is in the room associated with the room ID.In such embodiments, the bed may store in a database of circuitry 22 theroom ID along with the start and end times at which the bed consideredthat particular room ID to be the bed ID. The start and end timesinclude, for example, minutes, hours, day, month, and year. For manysystems and software applications used in a healthcare environment, theend users are not interested in knowing the bed ID anyway. They are moreinterested in knowing which device status data goes with which patient.This can be accomplished in many instances by associating location ID,patient ID, and device status ID. In this regard, device status ID mayinclude the patient's physiological data as measured by a particulardevice. Manufacturers are more interested in knowing bed ID for serviceand maintenance purposes. Thus, at a later time, a service techniciandownloads the bed ID along with the rooms in which the bed was locatedin the past. Appropriate data analysis is made by the service technicianafter the download.

Referring now to FIG. 15, bed 20 optionally includes an indicator module150 that mounts to a portion of bed 20 such as upper frame 152. In otherembodiments, module 150 is mounted to some other portion of bed 20 suchas base frame 154, one of endboards 156, or one of siderails 158.Indicator module 150 has a first light emitting diode (LED) 160 that isilluminated to indicate Wi-Fi signal strength between circuitry 22 (notshown in FIG. 15) of bed 20 (and/or circuitry 166 of module 150) and awireless access point 124. In one embodiment, LED 160 is a three colorLED (e.g., red, yellow, green) that is illuminated a particular color toindicate the relative signal strength. In some embodiments, wirelessaccess point 124 operates to determine the signal strength of thecommunication link between it and circuitry 22 of bed 20 (or circuitry166 of module 150) and, in other embodiments, circuitry 22 of bed 20 (orcircuitry 166 of module 150) operates to determine the signal strengthof the communication link between it and wireless access point 124.

Module 150 has a second LED 162 that is illuminated to indicate that asuccessful communication link has been established between circuitry 22(not shown in FIG. 15) of bed 20 and one or more remote computerdevices, such as devices 26 a, 26 b of FIG. 12, one or both of which maybe considered a remote nurse call computer device. Module 150 has athird LED 164 that is illuminated to indicate that a successfulbed-to-room association has been made at a remote computer device suchas one or both of remote computer devices 26 a or 26 b of FIG. 12. Insome embodiments, device 26 a is a server of a real time location system(RTLS) and device 26 b is a server of a nurse call system. Having thirdLED 164 included on module 150 is an improvement over known prior artbeds which did not have any indicator relating to whether a successfulbed-to-room association had been made. Alternatively or additionally,indicator 164 provides an indication of a successful bed-to-patientassociation, a successful room-to-patient association, and/or asuccessful bed-to-room-to patient association.

In one embodiment, circuitry 166 of module 150 includes a Model No.WB45NBT device available from Laird Technologies of Earth City, Mo.Details of the Model No. WB45NBT device can be found in Laird ReferenceManual, Laird WB45NBT, Version 1.0, dated Aug. 20, 2013, which is herebyexpressly incorporated by reference herein. Circuitry 166 of module 150connects to circuitry 22 of bed 20 via a universal serial bus (USB)cable in some embodiments. In such embodiments, therefore, circuitry 22and circuitry 166 each include a USB port. In other embodiments,circuitry 166 of module 22 and circuitry 22 of bed 20 communicatewirelessly. Circuitry 166 controls the illumination of LED's 160, 162,164 via shift registers in some embodiments. Circuitry 166 includes aWi-Fi antenna and/or a Bluetooth (BT) antenna in some embodiments. Forexample, a suitable antenna for either or both of these purposes is theLaird Model No. 95310 antenna. In some embodiments contemplated by thisdisclosure, circuitry 22 of bed 20 does not have wireless communicationcapability but instead relies on the wireless communication capabilityof circuitry 166 of module 150 to communicate bed data wirelessly to andfrom network 24 via wireless access point 124.

In some embodiments of the systems illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 15, theRTLS components are available from CenTrak, Inc. of Newtown, Pa. Forexample, in some embodiments, tag 118 is a CenTrak model no. IT-710 tag;RTLS location beacon or location unit 120 is a CenTrak model no. ITK-313Monitor or a CenTrak model no. IT-323 Virtual Wall; and RTLS aggregatoror transceiver 122 is a CenTrak model no. IT-103 Star. It should beappreciated, however, that RTLS components from other suppliers may beused in lieu of, or in addition to, the CenTrak components.

In alternative embodiments, RF triangulation is used to locate bed 20 ina healthcare facility. In such embodiments, tag 118, location unit 120and transceiver 122 are omitted. Instead, multiple (typically three ormore) Wi-Fi transceivers, such as wireless access points 124, receivewireless transmissions from bed 20 and then a remote computer device,such as one of servers 26 a, 26 b, analyzes signal strength and ortime-of-flight information from the multiple wireless access points 124to determine the location of bed 20. Once the location has beendetermined, bed 20 is notified wirelessly and indicator 164 of module150 is illuminated.

Referring now to FIG. 16, a block diagram of a wireless bed-to-roomassociation system similar to that of FIG. 12 but including a Wi-Fimodule 150′ is provided. In FIG. 16, Wi-Fi module 150′ is similar tomodule 150 of FIG. 15. A wired connection 168, such as a USB cable,interconnects circuitry 22 and module 150′. It is within the scope ofthis disclosure for module 150′ to be considered part of circuitry 22but these are illustrated as separate blocks in FIG. 16 for ease ofdiscussion. Thus, module 150′ and its associated circuitry, likecircuitry 166 of module 150, are integrated into the overall electricalsystem of bed 20 in some embodiments.

As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 16, a monitor ID 170 is transmittedfrom location unit 120, referred to in FIG. 16 as an RTLS locationbeacon, to an RTLS tag 118 mounted to bed 20. Monitor ID 170 istransmitted as a low frequency or infrared (IR) signal from beacon 120as indicated by block 172. Thus, it is contemplated by this disclosurethat only the tags 118 of beds in the same room or in close proximity tobeacon 120 are able to receive monitor ID 170. After tag 118 hasreceived monitor ID 170, tag 118 transmits a radio frequency (RF)signal, as indicated at block 174 in FIG. 16, that includes the monitorID plus tag ID 176 for receipt by transceiver 122, which in FIG. 16 isreferred to as an RTLS aggregator. The term “aggregator” is use becausetransceiver 122 will potentially receive RF signals from a multitude ofbeds 20 that are within its reception range. As indicated bydiagrammatic arrow 178 in FIG. 16, the signals received by aggregator122 are forwarded to remote computer device 26 a which is referred to inFIG. 16 as an RTLS server. The monitor ID and Tag ID are paired to forma location association by RTLS server 26 a as indicated by the textwithin arrow 178.

Still referring to FIG. 16, remote computer device 26 b is coupled toRTLS server 26 a via communication link 126. Device 26 b is referred toas a bed data server in FIG. 16 but may just as well be referred to as anurse call server. Bed data server 26 b includes a database table 180 inwhich is stored, among other things, the location associationinformation based on the monitor ID and tag ID pairing received fromRTLS server 26 a. Thus, one or both of servers 26 a, 26 b include RTLSApplication Programming Interface (API) Integration software asindicated by the text within double headed arrow 126 of FIG. 16.

Wi-Fi module 150′ of bed 20 sends a Wi-Fi signal, as indicated at block182, that includes bed ID data 184. It should be appreciated that bed 20also transmits bed status data along with bed ID 184. Bed status dataincludes bed frame data such as siderail position data, caster brakeposition data, lift system data, head of bed angle data, weigh scalesystem data, bed exit system data, motor lockout data, and the like;support surface data such as therapy mode data, maximum inflate data,turn assist data, and the like; and other data such as battery chargedata, AC present/not present data, nurse call button data, and the like.For a more exhaustive list of bed status data that may be associatedwith bed 20, see U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0135160which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety to theextent not inconsistent with this disclosure which shall control as toany inconsistencies.

The bed status data and bed ID are received by server 26 b and areprocessed by bed data aggregator software 186 as indicateddiagrammatically in FIG. 16. Details of bed data aggregator software 186can be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0316892which is hereby incorporated herein by reference herein in its entiretyto the extent not inconsistent with this disclosure which shall controlas to any inconsistencies. While FIG. 16 shows a single bed 20communicating with server 26 b, it should be appreciated that amultitude of beds 20 communicate with server 26 b. Thus, the bed dataaggregator software processes the bed status data and bed ID data fromall of such beds.

Server 26 a and/or server 26 b stores information or has access toinformation that correlates the bed ID with the tag ID. Such informationis entered into server 26 a, 26 b in connection with assigning tags 118to the various beds 20 in some embodiments. Thus, the informationcorrelating tag ID and bed ID is included in database table 180 in someembodiments. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the monitor IDfrom each location beacon 120 corresponds to a particular location(e.g., room) of a healthcare facility. Accordingly, the bed status datathat is transmitted with bed ID 184 is able to be associated with aparticular location at which bed 20 is located due to the correlation ofmonitor ID with the tag ID of bed 20 and the correlation of the tag IDwith the bed ID. These various correlated relationships are maintainedin database 180 in some embodiments. The bed status data is alsoincluded in database 180 in some embodiments.

According to this disclosure, after the monitor ID, tag ID, and bed IDare correlated by server 26 b, a prospective or preliminary bed-to-roomassociation is considered to exit. However, before the bed-to-roomassociation is considered to be finalized, server 26 b determineswhether a power plug 188 of power cord 190 of bed 20 is coupled into areceptacle 192 to receive AC power therefrom. The act of connecting plug188 into receptacle 192 permits the inference to be drawn that bed 20 islikely to remain at the particular location for an extended period oftime rather than simply being in transit or only temporarily at thelocation for a short period of time. If server 26 b determines that thebed status data indicates that bed 20 is receiving AC power fromreceptacle 192, then location information 194 is transmitted to Wi-Fimodule 150′ to indicate a successful or finalized bed-to-roomassociation has been made.

Referring now to FIG. 17, a flow chart of an algorithm 196 of a portionof the software executed by server 26 b of the system of FIG. 16 isshown. Block 198 of the algorithm states “Wireless ‘Bed 1” Connects toServer,” which means that server 26 b receives packets of data (e.g.,bed ID 184 and bed status data) that have been communicated wirelesslyfrom module 150’ of bed 20. The packets are communicated to server 26 bvia transceiver 122 and network 24 as described previously in thisdisclosure. Thus, it should be appreciated that the so-called wirelesspackets are eventually communicated over various wired communicationlinks (including fiber optic communication links in some embodiments) ofthe network infrastructure of a healthcare facility to reach server 26b.

As indicated at block 200, server 26 b looks for location ID associatedwith bed 20. The location ID referenced in block 200 includes, forexample, monitor ID 170 or a room number or other location name ornumber that correlates to monitor ID 170. If at block 202, server 26 bdoes not find a location ID that is associated with bed 20, then thealgorithm 196 loops back to block 200. It will be appreciated that, ifalgorithm remains in the block 200, 202 loop for a predetermined periodof time or for a predetermined number of iterations, the software willexit from the loop and send an alarm message or return to some otherportion of algorithm 196 or another algorithm.

If server 26 b finds the location ID for bed 20 at block 202, server 26b proceeds to block 204 to check the bed status message for “AC present”data which means that the plug 188 of power cord 190 of bed 20 isplugged into receptacle 192. As indicated at block 206, if server 26 bdoes not find AC present, then the algorithm 196 loops back to block204. It will be appreciated that, if algorithm remains in the block 204,206 loop for a predetermined period of time or for a predeterminednumber of iterations, the software will exit from the loop and send analarm message or return to some other portion of algorithm 196 oranother algorithm.

If server 26 b finds AC present at block 206, server 26 b proceeds toblock 208 and sends a message to bed 20, including the Location or RoomID 194, to indicate that bed 20 has been successfully located.Thereafter, bed 20 indicates a successful bed-to-room location bydisplaying the location ID (e.g., room name or number) on a graphicaldisplay screen of bed 20 or by otherwise indicating a successfulbed-to-room location such as by illuminating indicator 164 of module 150as discussed above in connection with FIG. 15.

Referring now to FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing a disassociationalgorithm 212 implemented by bed 20 and remote server 26 b of FIG. 16 inresponse to the bed 20 being disconnected from the AC power outlet orreceptacle 192. As indicated at block 214, algorithm 212 begins inresponse to plug 188 of bed 20 being disconnected from receptacle 192.After that occurs, bed 20 indicates no location such as, for example, byceasing to display the room name or number on a graphical display screenof bed 20 or by turning off indicator 164 of module 150. Algorithm 212then proceeds to block 218 at which bed 20 sends a message to server 26b indicating that AC is no longer present due to the unplugging of plug188 from receptacle 192. After server 26 b receives that message frombed 20, server 26 b disassociates bed 20 from the last location asindicated at block 220 and proceeds to indicate no location for bed 20as indicated at block 222. In some embodiments, this involves removingdata from table 180. For example, the bed ID and bed status data may bemaintained in table 180 but the monitor ID, tag ID and/or location ID(or other location information such as room name or room number) isremoved and, if desired, replace with the string “no location.”Alternatively, the monitor ID, tag ID and/or location ID (or otherlocation information) is maintained in the table 180 and the bed IDand/or bed status data is removed from table 180.

Referring now to FIG. 19 a patient-to-bed association system includes awireless heart rate monitor 224 that includes circuitry 226 configuredto send data, including the patient's medical record number (MRN),wirelessly to circuitry of bed 20. In FIG. 19, the circuitry of bed isomitted but suffice it to say that the circuitry of bed 20 is discussedelsewhere herein in connection with each of the other embodiments inwhich bed 20 has wireless communication capability. As indicated bydiagrammatic arrow 228 in FIG. 19, bed 20 is configured to transmit thepatient's MRN and bed ID data wirelessly for used by one or more remotecomputer devices (e.g., servers 26 a, 26 b) to associate the patient tothe bed 20. In some embodiments, heart rate monitor 224 also sends heartrate data to bed 20 for display on a graphical display screen of bed 20or for wireless transmission to remote computer devices such as servers26 a, 26 b and/or to one or more computer devices of an EMR system.

Circuitry 226 of heart rate monitor 224 is programmable with thepatient's MRN. For example, such programming may occur upon admittanceof the patient to a healthcare facility. In some embodiments, circuitry226 includes a Bluetooth module for communication of wireless data viathe Bluetooth protocol. A suitable heart rate monitor is the Wahoo BlueTICKR monitor available from Wahoo Fitness of Atlanta, Ga. In theillustrative example of FIG. 19, monitor 224 is coupled to the patient'sarm via an arm band 230. In other embodiments, monitor 224 is coupled tothe patient by a chest band that is similar to arm band 230, but largerto fit around the circumference of the patient's chest. In someembodiments, arm band 224 is adjustable and so is expandable so as to beusable as a chest band.

Alternatively or additionally, monitor ID data of heart rate monitor 224is mapped or correlated with the patient's ID data in a database, suchas in a database of RTLS server 26 a or in database table 180 of server26 b or some other server such an ADT server. The monitor ID data istransmitted wirelessly from monitor 224 to bed 20 and then sent wirelessfrom the bed 20 along with the bed ID data as indicated diagrammaticallyby arrow 228 in FIG. 19. Regardless of whether the patient's MRN is usedor monitor ID data is used, a patient-to-bed association and therefore,a patient-to-bed-to-room association is made within database table 180of server 26 b in some embodiments. The capability to pair or otherwiseassociation a patient with medical equipment or than bed 20 using heartrate monitor 224 in a similar manner is also contemplated by thisdisclosure. This is possible as long as the other medical equipment hasthe same or similar wireless communication capability as bed 20.

Referring now to FIG. 20, another bed data system is showndiagrammatically in which bed 20 is equipped with a first Bluetooth (BT)module 232 and optionally, in some embodiments, a second BT module 234.Modules 232, 234 communicate with a wall BT module 236 for transmissionof bed data, including bed status data and bed ID data, after a BTpairing operation is conducted based on transmission of bed BT module IDdata via a transponder 238 carried by a plug of a power cord 240 of bed20 as indicated by diagrammatic block 242. It is contemplated by thisdisclosure that modules 232, 234, 236 are Class 2 Bluetooth devices thathave a theoretical communication range of up to 33 feet (10 meters) but,in practice, have a communication range on the order of 15-20 feet. Thisis not to say that in other embodiments, Class 1 Bluetooth deviceshaving a theoretical range of 329 feet (100 meters) or Class 3 Bluetoothdevices having a theoretical range of 3.3 feet (1 meter) could not beused in lieu of modules 232, 234, 236. Furthermore, modules using othertypes of communication technology (e.g., ZigBee, Wi-Fi) are also withinthe scope of this disclosure for use as alternatives to modules 232,234, 236.

By using modules 232, 234, 236, the traditional bed status or nurse callcable (e.g., a 37-pin connector cable) between bed 20 and a nurse callmodule 244 is eliminated. Thus, the power cord 240 is the only cord thatconnects to, and disconnects from, an associated receptacle. The beddata is communicated wirelessly from one or both of modules 232, 234 tomodule 236. In the illustrative example of FIG. 20, it is assumed that anurse call system 246 having one or more nurse call modules 244 in eachroom is already installed in a healthcare facility. The nurse callmodules 244 each are communicatively coupled to a nurse call server 246as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 20 with double headed arrow 247.Thus, to convert the wireless data received by module 236 from either orboth of modules 232, 234 into wired data that can be fed to the existingnurse call module 244, a communication board or circuit 248 is provided.Communication circuit 248 communicates with module 236 as indicated bydouble headed arrow 250. A 37-pin connector cable 252 interconnectscommunication circuit 248 and nurse call module 244 as indicated bydiagrammatic block 254. Data received at nurse call module 244 iscommunicated to nurse call server 246.

In the illustrative embodiment, wall Bluetooth module 236 communicateswith modules 232, 234 via radio frequency (RF) signals according to theBluetooth protocol which operates on an unlicensed 2.4 gigahertz (GHz)band which is also shared with Wi-Fi and other protocols. To be morespecific, the Bluetooth protocol implements an adaptive frequencyhopping (AFH) methodology to transmit at any of 79 hopping channels thatare 1 megahertz (MHz) apart between 2.4 GHz and 2.4835 GHz. Thus, inaddition to receiving wireless signals from modules 232, 234 of bed 20,it is foreseeable that wall BT module 236 will be within the receptionrange of other devices, including other beds 20, and receive thewireless signals transmitted by those other devices. So, in order topair module 236 with one or both of modules 232, 234, a loop antenna 256is provided to read signals sent from transponder 23 as indicateddiagrammatically at block 258 in FIG. 20. The signals from transponder23 are encoded with a first module ID of first module 232 and, ifpresent, a second module ID of second module 234.

If module 232 is the only module on bed 20, then in response to powercord 240 being plugged in, loop antenna 256 is powered up bycommunication circuit 248 and reads the first module ID from transponder238 to communication circuit 248. Communication circuit then providesthe first module ID to wall BT module 236. In some embodiments, thefirst module ID corresponds to a unique 48 bit Bluetooth device address(aka the MAC address) of module 232. The first 24 bits of this addressrepresent the manufacturer of the Bluetooth circuitry of module 232 andthe remaining 24 bits are unique for each Bluetooth device assigned bythe manufacturer. However, any unique module ID would suffice. Afterreceiving the first module ID, wall BT module 236 then operates toaccept wireless transmissions from only module 232 and to ignore allother wireless transmissions. In this regard, module 236 acceptswireless transmission packets that contain the first module ID. This issometimes referred to as an Out of Band (OOB) pair between modules 232,236.

The transmission packets sent between modules 232, 236 include bothaudio and data packets in some embodiments. For example, Bluetoothtechnology is rated for 3 Mega bits per second (Mbps) transmissionspeed, but in practice the speed is about 2.1 Mbps, which is fast enoughto permit audio and data packets to be sent. The delay in the audiosignal using Bluetooth technology is about 50 to about 80 milliseconds(ms) which is less than the 100 ms delay required to synchronizetelevision video and audio. Thus, modules 232, 236 of the system in FIG.20 are an improvement over prior art bed data systems in whichtransmission of audio data was not possible.

If power cord 240 is unplugged, loop antenna 256 no longer provides thefirst module ID to communication circuit 248 and communication circuit248 notifies wall BT module 236 to break its pairing with module 232 ofbed 20. During the communication between module 232, 236, module 236operates as a “master” module such as by controlling the frequencyhopping channels over which communications with module 232 occur, andmodule 232, therefore, operates as a “slave.”

If modules 232, 234 are both present on bed 20, then in response topower cord 240 being plugged in, loop antenna 256 is powered up bycommunication circuit 248 and reads the first module ID and the secondmodule ID from transponder 238 to communication circuit 248.Communication circuit then provides the first module ID and the secondmodule ID to wall BT module 236. Module 236, acting as a “master,”assesses the signal strength of the communications from modules 232, 234and chooses to communicate with the “slave” (i.e., one or the other ofmodules 232, 234) that has lower RF interference based on receivedsignal strength indicator (rssi) and channel map. If communication withthe chosen slave is lost at any time after the master-slave relationshipbetween module 236 and one of modules 232, 234 is established, module236 jumps or switches the communication over to the other of modules232, 234 if the RF interference with the other of modules 232, 234 isacceptable. In some embodiments, if the master module 236 is unable tocommunicate with both slave modules 232, 234, then at least one ofmodules 232, 234, 236 triggers an audible and/or visual alarm.

In the illustrative embodiment, module 232 is on one side of bed 20 andmodule 234 is on the other side of bed 20. For example, module 232 iscoupled to a right siderail of bed 20 and module 234 is coupled to aleft siderail of bed 20 in some embodiments. It is contemplated by thisdisclosure that bed 20 may include an additional Wi-Fi module such as,for example, modules 150, 150′ discussed above. It is preferable toplace the Wi-Fi module on bed 20 as far from modules 232, 234 aspossible since Wi-Fi operates in the same frequency band as Bluetooth.However, placing the additional Wi-Fi module at the head end of bed 20between modules 232, 234 at the sides of bed 20 is sufficient. It iscontemplated by this disclosure that the first and second BT modules232, 234 communicate in different time slots than the additional Wi-Fimodule communicates. Thus, when either of the modules 232, 234 areturned on, the additional Wi-Fi module is turned off and vice versa.Thus, the time slots of transmission are non-overlapping time slots.

Referring now to FIG. 21, the scenario is illustrated in which a priorart bed 20′ that lacks any wireless modules, such as modules 232, 234,is still able to be used with the system of FIG. 20. In this situation,bed 20′ has a power cord 240′ that does not have any transponder asindicated at diagrammatic block 242′. Instead, a traditional connectornurse call connector cable 260 is provided to provide a wiredcommunication link between bed 20′ and nurse call module 244. In theFIG. 21 example, it is contemplated that nurse call module 244 has onlyone nurse call cable connection port, such as a single 37-pin connectionport. Thus, connector cable 252 is shown in FIG. 21 as being unpluggedfrom the nurse call module 244 so that connector cable 260 can beplugged into the nurse call module 244. In some embodiments, nurse callmodule 244 is a Bed Interface Unit (BIU) that is marketed by Hill-RomCompany, Inc. of Batesville, Ind. In the FIG. 21 example, module 236,communication circuit 248, and loop antenna 256 are dormant, at leastwith regard to communication of bed data from bed 20′ to and from nursecall server 246.

Referring now to FIG. 22, the scenario is illustrated in which a nursecall module 244′ has two nurse call cable connection ports, such hashaving two 37-pin cable connection ports. An example of such a nursecall module 244′ is a Network Interface Unit (NIU) which is indicated atdiagrammatic block 262 in FIG. 22 and which is marketed by Hill-RomCompany, Inc. of Batesville, Ind. So, in the FIG. 22 example, cable 252remains plugged into one of the connection ports of nurse communicationmodule 244′ even when the prior art bed 20′ has its nurse call cable 260plugged into the other of the connection ports of nurse call module244′. In this situation, circuitry in nurse call module 244′ operates sothat the wired communication link between bed 20′ and nurse call module244′ via cable 260 takes priority over the wired communication linkbetween communication circuit 248 and nurse call module 244′ via cable252. In some embodiments, one of the connection ports of module 244′ isa male 37-pin connector and the other of the connection ports of module244′ is a female 37-pin connector. The mating connectors at the ends ofcables 252, 260 are fashioned accordingly.

Referring now to FIG. 23, loop antenna 256 of FIGS. 20-22 is shownsituated beside a receptacle 264 of a duplex AC outlet 266 as indicatedwith diagrammatic block 268. For example, antenna 256 is mounted to aback surface of a duplex cover plate 270 adjacent the aperture 272 incover plate 270 that receives receptacle 264. A first AC power cord 240a has its transponder 238 embodied as an RFID tag that is molded into aplug body 272 as indicated at diagrammatic block 274. Transponder 238 inplug body 272 is located closely behind a front surface 276 from whichpower prongs 278, 279 and ground prong 280 extend. When prongs 278, 279,280 are received in a receptacle 265 of duplex AC outlet 266,transponder 238 of plug body 272 is sufficiently close to loop antenna256 for wireless communication to be established therebetween. Ofcourse, prongs 278, 279, 280 may also be received in receptacle 264, ifdesired, and antenna 256 and transponder 238 will communicate just aswell. In the illustrative example, cord 240 a and plug body 272 meetNEMA 5-15 hospital grade requirements.

A second AC power cord 240 b has its transponder 238 embodied as an RFIDtag included in a label 282 as indicated at diagrammatic block 284 inFIG. 23. Label 282 attaches to cord 240 b at a position spaced from, butadjacent to, a plug body 286. Power prongs 287, 288 and a ground prong289 extend from plug body 286. When prongs 297, 288, 289 are received inreceptacle 264 (or receptacle 265, if desired) of duplex outlet 266,transponder 238 of label 282 is sufficiently close to loop antenna 256for wireless communication to be established therebetween.

Active and passive transponders 238 (e.g., RFID tags) are contemplatedby this disclosure. For example, transponder 238 of label 282 is apassive transponder whereas transponder 238 of plug body 272 is anactive transponder that is powered by a 5 Volt (V) or 3.3 V power supplyof bed 20. As shown in FIG. 25, power cord 240 a contains AC powerconductors 290, 292, a ground conductor 294, and DC power/dataconductors 296, 298. Conductors 290, 292, 294 are coupled to prongs 278,279, 280, respectively, and conductors 296, 298 are coupled totransponder 238 in plug body 272. Thus, conductors 296, 298 provided thepower to transponder 238 and are also usable as data lines to programthe first and second module ID's into memory of transponder 238.

In some embodiments, transponder 238 is an RFID tag having an EEPROMwhich is programmed by bed circuitry 22, such as by using a multipointcontrol unit (MCU), via a serial peripheral interface (SPI) protocol orInter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol. For the passive transponder238, the first and second module ID's are written to memory wirelessly.In some embodiments contemplated by this disclosure, transponders 238are programmed in an active mode, such as via conductors 296, 298, andthen operate in a passive mode when loop antenna 256 is reading themodule ID's from the transponder 238. In such embodiments, loop antenna256 is energized by communication circuit 248 and transfers energy totransponder 238 that is used by the transponder to transmit the firstand second module ID's fro reception by antenna 256.

Referring now to FIG. 24, AC power cord 240 a carries a first RFIDcomponent 300 in plug body 272 and a receptacle module 302 has a housing304 that carries a second RFID component 306. Module 302 has an ACreceptacle 308 at a front face 310 thereof. In some embodiments, module302 plugs into an existing AC outlet and so power and ground prongs (notshown) extend from a back of housing 304 in such embodiments. In otherembodiments, receptacle is wired directly to the power grid of thecorresponding healthcare facility. Module 302 also has a light-up ring312 that is provided at front face 310 and that circumscribes orencompasses receptacle 312. Light-up ring 312 is illuminated when asuccessful bed-to-room association has been made.

In a first scenario for determining a successful bed-to-roomassociation, RFID component 306 includes a reader that receives bed IDdata from RFID component 300 when power cord 240 a is plugged in withprongs 278, 279, 280 being received by receptacle 308 of module 302.After RFID component 306 receives the bed ID data from RFID component300, module 302 sends room ID data to the circuitry 22 of the bed 20that is designated with the bed ID data using wireless transmissioncircuitry included in module 302. In some embodiments, the wirelesscommunication circuitry of module 302 operates according to theBluetooth protocol. In such embodiments, bed 20 includes Bluetoothcircuitry. Bed 20 receives the room ID data and then transmits the bedID data and the room ID data using a Wi-Fi transmitter of circuitry 22.Bed 20 also transmits a Bluetooth message back to the circuitry ofmodule 302 to confirm the bed-to-room association. In response to thatmessage, module illuminates light-up ring 312. Ring 312 is illuminatedgreen in some embodiments.

In a second scenario for determining a successful bed-to-roomassociation, RFID component 306 includes a passive RFID tag and RFIDcomponent 300 comprises a reader that receives power from conductors296, 298 of cord 240 a. RFID component 300 senses RFID component 306when cord 240 a is plugged into module 302 and reads room ID data thatis encoded in RFID component 306. RFID component 300 then sends the roomID data to circuitry 22 of bed 20 via wired connection, such as one orboth of conductors 296, 298. Bed 20 then transmits the bed ID data andthe room ID data using a Wi-Fi transmitter of circuitry 22. In thisscenario, module 302 receives a Wi-Fi signal or other wireless signalonce a successful bed-to-room association is made (either at bed 20 orat a remote computer device, such as servers 26 a, 26 b) and thecircuitry of module 302 turns on the light-up ring 312 to indicate thesuccessful bed-to-room association.

Referring now to FIG. 26, another bed-to-room association systemaccording to this disclosure is shown in which bed 20 has wirelesstransceiver, such as an illustrative Bluetooth transceiver 150″, coupledto circuitry 22 and operable to establish wireless communications withcircuitry 314 of a handheld pillow speaker unit 320 as indicated bydiagrammatic dashed arrow 316. In this embodiment, the pillow speakerunit 320 acts as a communication intermediary between the bed 20 and anurse call system 322 as well as one or more other remote computerdevices 324. Bed data, including bed status data and bed ID data, iscommunicated to unit 320 wirelessly from bed 20 for reception by anantenna or transceiver 315 of circuitry 314 and, in turn, circuitry 314of unit 320 sends the bed data to nurse call system 322 along withpillow speaker unit ID data. A computer device of nurse call system 322and/or one of the other computer devices 324 includes a database thatcorrelates the pillow speaker unit ID data with a patient room 326 inwhich unit 320, and therefore, bed 20 is located.

Pillow speaker unit 320 is coupled via a wired power and data connectionto a nurse call interface 330 as indicated by diagrammatic double headedarrow 328. Nurse call interface 330 is coupled to nurse call system 322as indicated by diagrammatic double headed arrow 332. Nurse callinterface 330 is also coupled to a television (TV) 334, room lights 336,and window shades 338 as indicated by diagrammatic arrows 340, 342, 344,respectively. Pillow speaker unit 320 has user inputs 350 that are usedto control functions of TV 334, lights 336, shades 338, and bed 20. Bed20 has user inputs 352 that are also used to control functions of TV334, lights 336, shades 338, and bed 20. Thus, when user inputs 350 ofunit 320 are used to control bed 20, control signals from unit 320 arecommunicated to transceiver 150″ wirelessly from circuitry 314 of unit320. Similarly, when user inputs 352 of bed 20 are used to control TV334, 336, 338, control signals from bed 20 are communicated fromtransceiver 150″ wirelessly to circuitry 314 of unit 320. A pairingoperation, such as the pairing operation described above in connectionwith FIG. 20, takes place between the circuitry 314 of unit 320 and thecircuitry of bed 20 so that other, unrelated wireless transmissions areignored by unit 320 and bed 20.

Referring now to FIG. 27, a first embodiment of handheld pillow speakerunit 320 is shown in which a housing 321 carries a set of manual buttons350 a and a graphical user interface (GUI) 350 b having electronictouchscreen buttons 354. The manual buttons 350 a are located beneaththe GUI 350 b in the illustrative example. Known prior art pillowspeaker units only have manual buttons. Thus, by equipping unit 320 withGUI 350 b, unit 320 is able to have more sophisticated functionalitythan known pillow speaker units. However, pillow speaker unit 320includes a manual nurse call button 356 which is pressed to send ageneral nurse call signal to nurse call system 322 in order to contactor summon an assigned caregiver. Others of the manual buttons are usedto place telephone calls, to control TV 334, to control a radio, and tocontrol room lights 336 and shades 338 in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the touchscreen buttons 354 of GUI 350 b have thefunctionality described in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/177,851, whichwas filed Feb. 11, 2014, which is titled “Workflow Canvas for ClinicalApplications,” and which is hereby incorporated by reference herein tothe extent not inconsistent with the present disclosure which shallcontrol as to any inconsistencies. In general, each button 354 isselected to send a specific message to an assigned caregiver. Suchmessages, for example, indicate that the patient needs to go to thebathroom, that the patient wants water, that the patient is in pain,that there is a problem with an intravenous (IV) pump or liquid, thatthere is a problem with a catheter, or that there is a problem withother equipment, such as bed 20. This list of messages is not intendedto be exhaustive but merely to give a few examples. GUI 350 b alsopermits a user to navigate to screens for controlling bed functions insome embodiments.

Referring now to FIG. 28, is a second embodiment of a handheld pillowspeaker unit 320′ is shown in which a housing 321′ carries a reduced setof manual buttons 350 a′ but still has GUI 350 b with electronictouchscreen buttons 354. The reduced set of manual buttons includesmanual nurse call button 356 beneath the GUI 350 b, a first on/offbutton 358 for control of a first light, and a second on/off button 360for control of a second light. For example, the first light is one ofroom lights 336 and the second light is a reading light of bed 20 insome embodiments.

It will be appreciated that units 320, 320′ of FIGS. 27 and 28 havetraditional manual buttons 350 a, 350 b that older patients may be morecomfortable using and also have GUI 350 b that is similar to modern daysmart phones that younger patients may be more comfortable using.However, because units 320, 320′ are tethered to nurse call interface330 by wired connection 328, units 320, 320′ will not become lost ormisplaced by patients as may tend to occur if units 320, 320′ werewireless units. The enhanced functionality afforded to units 320, 320′by GUI 350 b allows for a better patient experience due to moreeffective communications between the patient and the caregiving staff ofthe healthcare facility.

Each of the embodiments disclosed herein can have features of one ormore of each of the other embodiments. For example, the patient-to-bedassociation system of FIG. 19 in which a patient wears a device thattransmits data that corresponds to patient ID can be used in combinationwith the various embodiments of FIGS. 1-18 and 20-28. Furthermore, it iscontemplated that a system can employ different bed-to-room associationembodiments in different patient rooms. Thus, one room of a healthcarefacility may have the embodiment of FIG. 1 or 2 (location data encodedin light), another room in the healthcare facility may have theembodiment of FIG. 3 or 4 (bar code array), another room in thehealthcare facility may have the embodiment of FIGS. 5-10 (manuallocation entry), and so on. Thus, a system employing, at the same time,each and every embodiment disclosed herein is within the scope of thisdisclosure.

Although certain illustrative embodiments have been described in detailabove, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit ofthis disclosure as described and as defined in the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising a first subsystem forassociating a bed to a room of a healthcare facility, the firstsubsystem comprising a locator unit that is fixed in place and thattransmits a location ID, a patient bed having first circuitry that has afirst ID and that receives the location ID, the patient bed havingsecond circuitry that is independent of the first circuitry, the secondcircuitry being configured to transmit a bed ID and bed status data, afirst transceiver spaced from the locator unit and spaced from thepatient bed, the first transceiver receiving the first ID and locationID transmitted by the first circuitry, a second transceiver that isspaced from and independent of the first transceiver, the secondtransceiver receiving the bed ID and the bed status data transmitted bythe second circuitry, a first remote computer device receiving thelocation ID and first ID transmitted to the first remote computer deviceby the first transceiver, and a second remote computer device thatreceives the bed ID and the bed status data which is transmitted to thesecond computer device by the second transceiver, wherein the first andsecond remote computer devices cooperate to associate the location IDand the bed status data with the bed ID; and a second subsystemcomprising a light source that emits visible light having a signaturethat is unique to a location of the healthcare facility in which thelight source is situated, and a second patient bed including secondcircuitry that analyzes the light from the light source to determine thesignature corresponding to the location, the circuitry being configuredto transmit data corresponding to the signature and to transmit a secondbed identifier (ID) of the second patient bed to the network.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a third subsystem comprising anarray of redundant bar codes, and a third patient bed spaced from thearray of redundant bar codes, the third patient bed including thirdcircuitry that comprises a bar code reader that reads at least one ofthe redundant bar codes in the array, the third circuitry beingconfigured to transmit data corresponding to the at least one of theredundant bar codes and to transmit a third bed identifier (ID) of thethird patient bed to the network.
 3. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bed including aframe, third circuitry carried by the frame, and a graphical userinterface carried by the frame and coupled to the third circuitry, thegraphical user interface displaying at least one user interface screenthat is used by a caregiver to manually enter location data indicativeof a location in a healthcare facility occupied by the third patientbed, the circuitry transmitting the location data entered by thecaregiver and a third bed identification (ID) off of the third patientbed.
 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a third subsystemcomprising a locator unit that is fixed in place and that transmits alocation ID in a first format, and a third patient bed having a bed IDand circuitry having stored therein ID translation software, thecircuitry receiving the location ID in the first format and, inaccordance with the ID translation software, converting the location IDto a modified ID having a second format different than the first format,the circuitry transmitting the bed ID and the modified ID, whereby thelocation ID received by the circuitry of the patient bed is nottransmitted by the circuitry.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a second locator unit that isfixed in place and that transmits a second location ID, and a thirdpatient bed having a third bed ID and third circuitry having storedtherein ID mutation software, the circuitry receiving the secondlocation ID and, in accordance with the ID mutation software, mutatingthe second location ID and the third bed ID into a mutated ID, themutated ID being a single unique ID, the circuitry transmitting themutated ID, whereby neither the second location ID received by the thirdcircuitry nor the third bed ID of the third patient bed is transmittedby the third circuitry.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising athird subsystem comprising a hospital bed for use with a locating andtracking system, the hospital bed comprising a patient support structureconfigured to support a patient, third circuitry carried by the patientsupport structure, the third circuitry being in communication with thelocating and tracking system, and an indicator coupled to the thirdcircuitry and that is signaled by the third circuitry to provide anindication that a successful bed-to-room association has been made. 7.The system of claim 1, further comprising a third subsystem comprising afirst computer device that is remote from a third patient bed and thatreceives bed data transmitted from the third patient bed, the firstcomputer device receiving prospective bed-to-room association datatransmitted from a second computer device to indicate that the thirdpatient bed is in a particular location, the second computer devicebeing included as part of a locating system, wherein after receiving theprospective bed-to-room association data the first computer deviceanalyzes the bed data to determine if it includes information indicatingthat a power cord of the third patient bed is plugged into a poweroutlet, and if the bed data includes information indicating that thepower cord is plugged into a power outlet, the first computer devicestores the prospective bed-to-room association data in a databaseassociated with the first computer device as finalized bed-to-roomassociation data.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a thirdsubsystem comprising a third patient bed having third bed circuitry thatis configured to control bed functions of the third patient bed, toreceive wireless signals, and to transmit signals, a heart rate monitorthat is worn by a patient, the heart rate monitor having monitorcircuitry that is programmed to store a medical record number (MRN) ofthe patient, the monitor circuitry being configured to transmit the MRNwirelessly to the bed circuitry, wherein the third patient bed circuitryis configured to transmit third bed identification (ID) data and theMRN, and a first remote computer device that is configured to receivethe third bed ID data and the MRN of the patient and that is configuredto generate patient-to-bed association data for storage in a databasebased on the third bed ID data and the MRN.
 9. The system of claim 1,further comprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bedhaving third bed circuitry that is configured to control bed functionsof the third patient bed, to receive wireless signals, and to transmitsignals, a heart rate monitor that is worn by a patient, the heart ratemonitor having monitor circuitry that stores monitor identification (ID)data, the monitor circuitry transmitting the monitor ID data wirelesslyto the third bed circuitry, wherein the third bed circuitry transmitsthird bed identification (ID) data and the monitor ID data, and a firstremote computer device that receives the third bed ID data and themonitor ID data, that correlates the monitor ID data with a medicalrecord number (MRN) of the patient and that generates patient-to-bedassociation data for storage in a database based on the third bed IDdata and the monitor ID data.
 10. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bed having afirst radio frequency (RF) communication module that has firstidentification (ID) data, the first RF communication module transmittingthird bed data and the first ID data wirelessly from the third patientbed, the third patient bed having a power cord that carries atransponder, a second RF communication module spaced from the thirdpatient bed and situated adjacent to a wall of a room in which the thirdpatient bed is located, the second RF communication module having secondID data, the second RF communication module receiving the third bed dataand first ID data transmitted wirelessly from the first RF communicationmodule of the third patient bed, a transponder reader situated adjacentto the wall of the room and configured to read wireless information fromthe transponder including the first ID data, a communication circuitsituated adjacent to the wall of the room, the communication circuitbeing coupled to the transponder reader and coupled to the second RFcommunication module, the communication circuit configured to receivethe first ID data from the transponder reader and to receive the secondID data from the second RF communication module, wherein thecommunication circuit pairs the first and second RF communicationmodules so that the second RF communication module only acceptscommunication packets from the first RF communication module.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a third subsystem comprising athird patient bed having a first radio frequency (RF) communicationmodule that has first identification (ID) data and a second RFcommunication module that has second ID data, the first and second RFcommunication modules transmitting third bed data and the respectivefirst and second ID data wirelessly from the third patient bed, thethird bed having a power cord that carries a transponder, a third RFcommunication module spaced from the third patient bed and situatedadjacent to a wall of a room in which the third patient bed is located,the third RF communication module having third ID data, the third RFcommunication module receiving wireless transmissions from the first andsecond RF communication modules of the third patient bed, the wirelesstransmissions including the third bed data and the respective first andsecond ID data transmitted wirelessly, a transponder reader situatedadjacent to the wall of the room and configured to read wirelessinformation from the transponder including the first ID data and thesecond ID data, a communication circuit situated adjacent to the wall ofthe room, the communication circuit being coupled to the transponderreader and coupled to the third RF communication module, thecommunication circuit configured to receive the first and second ID datafrom the transponder reader and to receive the third ID data from thethird RF communication module, wherein the communication circuit pairsthe first and second RF communication modules with the third RFcommunication module so that the third RF communication module onlyaccepts communication packets from the first communication module or thesecond communication module.
 12. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bed having apower cord carrying a first RFID component, and a receptacle modulecarrying a second RFID component, the receptacle module having areceptacle into which the power cord plugs to receive power and to bringthe first and second RFID components into communicative proximity, thereceptacle module having an indicator that is activated in response tosuccessful communication being established between the first and secondRFID components.
 13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a thirdsubsystem comprising apparatus for communicating with a nurse callsystem of a healthcare facility, the apparatus comprising a thirdpatient bed having a first transceiver for wireless communication ofthird bed identification (ID) data and second bed status data, and ahandheld pillow speaker unit having a second transceiver in wirelesscommunication with the first transceiver, the pillow speaker unit beingin hardwired communication with the nurse call system, wherein thepillow speaker unit serves as a communication intermediary between thethird patient bed and the nurse call system.
 14. The system of claim 1,further comprising a third subsystem comprising a pillow speaker unit tocommunicate with a nurse call system in a healthcare facility, thepillow speaker unit comprising a handheld housing, a set of manualbuttons accessible on the housing, and a touchscreen graphical displaythat displays electronic buttons, at least one of the manual buttons andat least one of the electronic buttons being usable to send a respectivesignal to the nurse call system.
 15. A system comprising a firstsubsystem for associating a bed to a room of a healthcare facility, thefirst subsystem comprising a locator unit that is fixed in place andthat transmits a location ID, a patient bed having first circuitry thathas a first ID and that receives the location ID, the patient bed havingsecond circuitry that is independent of the first circuitry, the secondcircuitry being configured to transmit a bed ID and bed status data, afirst transceiver spaced from the locator unit and spaced from thepatient bed, the first transceiver receiving the first ID and locationID transmitted by the first circuitry, a second transceiver that isspaced from and independent of the first transceiver, the secondtransceiver receiving the bed ID and the bed status data transmitted bythe second circuitry, a first remote computer device receiving thelocation ID and first ID transmitted to the first remote computer deviceby the first transceiver, and a second remote computer device thatreceives the bed ID and the bed status data which is transmitted to thesecond computer device by the second transceiver, wherein the first andsecond remote computer devices cooperate to associate the location IDand the bed status data with the bed ID; and a second subsystemcomprising a light source that emits visible light and infrared (IR)light, wherein the IR light has a signature that is unique to a locationof the healthcare facility in which the light source is situated, and asecond patient bed including second circuitry that analyzes the IR lightfrom the light source to determine the signature corresponding to thelocation, the circuitry being configured to transmit data correspondingto the signature and to transmit a second bed identifier (ID) of thesecond patient bed to the network.
 16. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a second light source that emitsvisible light having a signature that is unique to a location of thehealthcare facility in which the second light source is situated, and athird patient bed including third circuitry that analyzes the light fromthe second light source to determine the signature corresponding to thelocation of the second light source, the third circuitry beingconfigured to transmit data corresponding to the signature and totransmit a third bed identifier (ID) to the network.
 17. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising a third subsystem comprising an array ofredundant bar codes, and a third patient bed spaced from the array ofredundant bar codes, the third patient bed including third circuitrythat comprises a bar code reader that reads at least one of theredundant bar codes in the array, the third circuitry being configuredto transmit data corresponding to the at least one of the redundant barcodes and to transmit a third bed identifier (ID) of the third patientbed to the network.
 18. The system of claim 15, further comprising athird subsystem comprising a third patient bed including a frame, thirdcircuitry carried by the frame, and a graphical user interface carriedby the frame and coupled to the third circuitry, the graphical userinterface displaying at least one user interface screen that is used bya caregiver to manually enter location data indicative of a location ina healthcare facility occupied by the third patient bed, the circuitrytransmitting the location data entered by the caregiver and a third bedidentification (ID) off of the third patient bed.
 19. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising a third subsystem comprising a locator unitthat is fixed in place and that transmits a location ID in a firstformat, and a third patient bed having a bed ID and circuitry havingstored therein ID translation software, the circuitry receiving thelocation ID in the first format and, in accordance with the IDtranslation software, converting the location ID to a modified ID havinga second format different than the first format, the circuitrytransmitting the bed ID and the modified ID, whereby the location IDreceived by the circuitry of the patient bed is not transmitted by thecircuitry.
 20. The system of claim 15, further comprising a thirdsubsystem comprising a second locator unit that is fixed in place andthat transmits a second location ID, and a third patient bed having athird bed ID and third circuitry having stored therein ID mutationsoftware, the circuitry receiving the second location ID and, inaccordance with the ID mutation software, mutating the second locationID and the third bed ID into a mutated ID, the mutated ID being a singleunique ID, the circuitry transmitting the mutated ID, whereby neitherthe second location ID received by the third circuitry nor the third bedID of the third patient bed is transmitted by the third circuitry. 21.The system of claim 15, further comprising a third subsystem comprisinga hospital bed for use with a locating and tracking system, the hospitalbed comprising a patient support structure configured to support apatient, third circuitry carried by the patient support structure, thethird circuitry being in communication with the locating and trackingsystem, and an indicator coupled to the third circuitry and that issignaled by the third circuitry to provide an indication that asuccessful bed-to-room association has been made.
 22. The system ofclaim 15, further comprising a third subsystem comprising a firstcomputer device that is remote from a third patient bed and thatreceives bed data transmitted from the third patient bed, the firstcomputer device receiving prospective bed-to-room association datatransmitted from a second computer device to indicate that the thirdpatient bed is in a particular location, the second computer devicebeing included as part of a locating system, wherein after receiving theprospective bed-to-room association data the first computer deviceanalyzes the bed data to determine if it includes information indicatingthat a power cord of the third patient bed is plugged into a poweroutlet, and if the bed data includes information indicating that thepower cord is plugged into a power outlet, the first computer devicestores the prospective bed-to-room association data in a databaseassociated with the first computer device as finalized bed-to-roomassociation data.
 23. The system of claim 15, further comprising a thirdsubsystem comprising a third patient bed having third bed circuitry thatis configured to control bed functions of the third patient bed, toreceive wireless signals, and to transmit signals, a heart rate monitorthat is worn by a patient, the heart rate monitor having monitorcircuitry that is programmed to store a medical record number (MRN) ofthe patient, the monitor circuitry being configured to transmit the MRNwirelessly to the bed circuitry, wherein the third patient bed circuitryis configured to transmit third bed identification (ID) data and theMRN, and a first remote computer device that is configured to receivethe third bed ID data and the MRN of the patient and that is configuredto generate patient-to-bed association data for storage in a databasebased on the third bed ID data and the MRN.
 24. The system of claim 15,further comprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bedhaving third bed circuitry that is configured to control bed functionsof the third patient bed, to receive wireless signals, and to transmitsignals, a heart rate monitor that is worn by a patient, the heart ratemonitor having monitor circuitry that stores monitor identification (ID)data, the monitor circuitry transmitting the monitor ID data wirelesslyto the third bed circuitry, wherein the third bed circuitry transmitsthird bed identification (ID) data and the monitor ID data, and a firstremote computer device that receives the third bed ID data and themonitor ID data, that correlates the monitor ID data with a medicalrecord number (MRN) of the patient and that generates patient-to-bedassociation data for storage in a database based on the third bed IDdata and the monitor ID data.
 25. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bed having afirst radio frequency (RF) communication module that has firstidentification (ID) data, the first RF communication module transmittingthird bed data and the first ID data wirelessly from the third patientbed, the third patient bed having a power cord that carries atransponder, a second RF communication module spaced from the thirdpatient bed and situated adjacent to a wall of a room in which the thirdpatient bed is located, the second RF communication module having secondID data, the second RF communication module receiving the third bed dataand first ID data transmitted wirelessly from the first RF communicationmodule of the third patient bed, a transponder reader situated adjacentto the wall of the room and configured to read wireless information fromthe transponder including the first ID data, a communication circuitsituated adjacent to the wall of the room, the communication circuitbeing coupled to the transponder reader and coupled to the second RFcommunication module, the communication circuit configured to receivethe first ID data from the transponder reader and to receive the secondID data from the second RF communication module, wherein thecommunication circuit pairs the first and second RF communicationmodules so that the second RF communication module only acceptscommunication packets from the first RF communication module.
 26. Thesystem of claim 15, further comprising a third subsystem comprising athird patient bed having a first radio frequency (RF) communicationmodule that has first identification (ID) data and a second RFcommunication module that has second ID data, the first and second RFcommunication modules transmitting third bed data and the respectivefirst and second ID data wirelessly from the third patient bed, thethird bed having a power cord that carries a transponder, a third RFcommunication module spaced from the third patient bed and situatedadjacent to a wall of a room in which the third patient bed is located,the third RF communication module having third ID data, the third RFcommunication module receiving wireless transmissions from the first andsecond RF communication modules of the third patient bed, the wirelesstransmissions including the third bed data and the respective first andsecond ID data transmitted wirelessly, a transponder reader situatedadjacent to the wall of the room and configured to read wirelessinformation from the transponder including the first ID data and thesecond ID data, a communication circuit situated adjacent to the wall ofthe room, the communication circuit being coupled to the transponderreader and coupled to the third RF communication module, thecommunication circuit configured to receive the first and second ID datafrom the transponder reader and to receive the third ID data from thethird RF communication module, wherein the communication circuit pairsthe first and second RF communication modules with the third RFcommunication module so that the third RF communication module onlyaccepts communication packets from the first communication module or thesecond communication module.
 27. The system of claim 15, furthercomprising a third subsystem comprising a third patient bed having apower cord carrying a first RFID component, and a receptacle modulecarrying a second RFID component, the receptacle module having areceptacle into which the power cord plugs to receive power and to bringthe first and second RFID components into communicative proximity, thereceptacle module having an indicator that is activated in response tosuccessful communication being established between the first and secondRFID components.
 28. The system of claim 15, further comprising a thirdsubsystem comprising apparatus for communicating with a nurse callsystem of a healthcare facility, the apparatus comprising a thirdpatient bed having a first transceiver for wireless communication ofthird bed identification (ID) data and second bed status data, and ahandheld pillow speaker unit having a second transceiver in wirelesscommunication with the first transceiver, the pillow speaker unit beingin hardwired communication with the nurse call system, wherein thepillow speaker unit serves as a communication intermediary between thethird patient bed and the nurse call system.
 29. The system of claim 15,further comprising a third subsystem comprising a pillow speaker unit tocommunicate with a nurse call system in a healthcare facility, thepillow speaker unit comprising a handheld housing, a set of manualbuttons accessible on the housing, and a touchscreen graphical displaythat displays electronic buttons, at least one of the manual buttons andat least one of the electronic buttons being usable to send a respectivesignal to the nurse call system.